Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfPro8): Abstract 17 | Published: 05 Oct 2026
Isaac Apeligre Adabre1 &, Mavis Pearl Kwabla1, Seth Christopher Yaw Appiah2, Gloria Ivy Mensah3, Paul Amuna1, Kennedy Kwasi Addo3, Bassirou Bonfoh4
1Fred N Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana, 2Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana, 3Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 4Faculty of Health Sciences, Regentropfen University College, Bolgatanga, Ghana
&Corresponding author: Isaac Apeligre Adabre; Fred N Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana; Email: aapeligre@yahoo.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1668-4077
Received: 11 Mar 2026, Accepted: 29 Aug 2026, Published: 05 Oct 2026
Domain: Mental Health
Keywords: Leprosy, stigma, social exclusion, mental health, Grade 2 disability
©Isaac Apeligre Adabre et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Isaac Apeligre Adabre et al., Stigma, social exclusion and mental health burden among leprosy patients in Bongo District, Ghana. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfPro8):17. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO8-0017
Leprosy remains endemic in Ghana, and Bongo District recorded an increase in new cases from 6 in 2021 to 19 in 2023. Beyond biomedical factors, stigma and social exclusion may delay diagnosis and treatment and contribute to psychological distress. Eight of 17 cases (47.0%) presented with Grade 2 disability. This study investigated stigma, social exclusion and mental health consequences among persons affected by leprosy in Bongo District.
An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study combined a matched case-control component involving 17 cases and 30 community controls with five focus group discussions involving persons affected by leprosy, family members, health workers, community health volunteers and community leaders. Quantitative data on stigma and social exclusion were collected using validated scales and analysed in Stata version 17 using descriptive statistics and Fisher’s exact test. Qualitative data were analysed thematically in NVivo
Among controls, 17 (56.7%) had high stigma scores and 17 (56.7%) had high social exclusion scores. Twenty-seven (90.0%) were reluctant to buy food from a person affected by leprosy and believed leprosy could hinder marriage; 23 (76.7%) believed it could hinder employment. Focus group discussions revealed enacted stigma, including avoidance and family separation; felt stigma, including fear of disclosure; and courtesy stigma affecting relatives. Persons affected by leprosy reported emotional trauma, self-isolation and suicidal thoughts. Only 11 controls (36.7%) believed leprosy-related disability could be prevented, and participants reported no mental health support for affected persons.
Stigma and social exclusion contribute to delayed presentation and severe psychosocial consequences among persons affected by leprosy in Bongo District. Community dialogue, contact-based anti-stigma interventions, integration of leprosy into mental health services and livelihood support are needed alongside biomedical interventions to advance the goal of zero leprosy by 2030.
Menu