The Impact of Leprosy and Physical Disability on Marital and Sexual Relationships of Married Nepali Men

Purpose: Both leprosy and disability can have a negative impact on a person’s relationships. This study aimed to gain insight into the impact of leprosy and disability on marital and sexual relationships of married Nepali men.

Method: The study used a cross-sectional design with a qualitative approach. Thirty participants were selected using purposive sampling and put in 3 groups (10 to a group):

(1) men with impairments due to leprosy, (2) men without leprosy but with physical disabilities, and (3) men without leprosy or disabilities (control group). Data was collected during semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions, and analysed with the software programme NVivo using structured coding.

Results: The majority of the men indicated they were satisfied with their marital and sexual relationships. However, some leprosy-affected men and some men with disabilities experienced friction in their marital relationships. Fighting between husband and wife was reported by half of the men affected by leprosy. Leprosy and disability had a negative influence on the sexual relationships of some of the men, because of physical limitations, pain, or decreased sex drive. Furthermore, many participants appeared to lack knowledge about the cause of leprosy and about sexual health.

Conclusion and Implications: Men affected by leprosy or disabilities seemed to face more problems in their marital relationships than men from the control group. This was primarily related to physical limitations which resulted in the inability to work; this threatened their personal and social identity. Findings show that there may be a problem in accessibility or availability of sex education. In addition, some marital problems could be related to lack of knowledge of leprosy. These point to the importance of providing education on leprosy and sexual health at the time of diagnosis.