Background: Podoconiosis is a non-infectious neglected tropical disease caused by long-term exposure to irritant volcanic soils. It results in severe physical, psychological and financial consequences. Heart and Sole Africa (HASA) is a non-governmental, community-based organization providing management to podoconiosis patients in Rwanda. We sought to analyze the impact of their program on the lives of patients.
Methods: Quantitative surveys recorded the participants’ demographics, adherence to HASA's management recommendations and changes in quality of life (QOL). Qualitative questions were used to gather respondent perspectives on HASA programming.
Results: We interviewed 127 patients from HASA's Musanze (n=47) and Burera (n=80) clinics. Almost all participants (98.4%) reported statistically significant (p<0.01) improvements in their QOL, and more than one-half (51.2%) had a favorable adherence score of >80%. Qualitative feedback identified specific challenges to adherence and recognition of program success in symptom management.
Conclusions: Our study demonstrated the value of community-based podoconiosis programming in improving the lives of patients. Practices such as regular feet washing, emollient application, shoe wearing and limb raising can result in a marked reduction of morbidity. Our findings support the argument for scaling up these management practices across Rwanda.
}, year = {2024}, journal = {Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene}, publisher = {Oxford University Press (OUP)}, issn = {0035-9203, 1878-3503}, doi = {10.1093/trstmh/trae007}, language = {Eng}, }