Excess mortality among people with podoconiosis: secondary analysis of two Ethiopian cohorts.

Background: While morbidity attributable to podoconiosis is relatively well studied, its pattern of mortality has not been established.

Methods: We compared the age-standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) of two datasets from northern Ethiopia: podoconiosis patients enrolled in a 1-y trial and a Health and Demographic Surveillance System cohort.

Results: The annual crude mortality rate per 1000 population for podoconiosis patients was 28.

Cost-effectiveness and social outcomes of a community-based treatment for podoconiosis lymphoedema in the East Gojjam zone, Ethiopia.

Background: Podoconiosis is a disease of the lymphatic vessels of the lower extremities that is caused by chronic exposure to irritant soils. It results in leg swelling, commonly complicated by acute dermatolymphangioadenitis (ADLA), characterised by severe pain, fever and disability.

Methods: We conducted cost-effectiveness and social outcome analyses of a pragmatic, randomised controlled trial of a hygiene and foot-care intervention for people with podoconiosis in the East Gojjam zone of northern Ethiopia.

Lymphoedema management to prevent acute dermatolymphangioadenitis in podoconiosis in northern Ethiopia (GoLBeT): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

Background: Podoconiosis (also known as endemic, non-filarial elephantiasis) affects about 4 million subsistence farmers in tropical Africa. Poor awareness of the condition and inadequate evidence for the efficacy of treatment mean that no government in an endemic country yet offers lymphoedema management for patients with podoconiosis. Among patients with filarial lymphoedema, trials suggest that limb care is effective in reducing the most disabling sequelae: episodes of acute dermatolymphangioadenitis.

Willingness to pay for footwear, and associated factors related to podoconiosis in northern Ethiopia.

Background: In Northern Ethiopia, use of footwear by the rural community is limited, and non-governmental organizations provide footwear for school children as a means of preventing podoconiosis. However, this is not a sustainable strategy. This study assessed willingness to pay for footwear among people with and without podoconiosis.

Using Qualitative Methods to Explore Lay Explanatory Models, Health-Seeking Behaviours and Self-Care Practices of Podoconiosis Patients in North-West Ethiopia.

Background: Podoconiosis (endemic non-filarial elephantiasis) is a chronic, non-infectious disease resulting from exposure of bare feet to red-clay soil in tropical highlands. This study examined lay beliefs about three under-researched aspects of podoconiosis patients' care: explanatory models, health-seeking behaviours and self-care.

Methods: In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were undertaken with 34 participants (19 male, 15 female) between April-May 2015 at podoconiosis treatment centres across East and West Gojjam regions in north-west Ethiopia.

Depression and disability in people with podoconiosis: a comparative cross-sectional study in rural Northern Ethiopia.

Background: Little is known about depressive symptoms in podoconiosis despite the independent contribution of depression to worse health outcomes and disability in people with other chronic disorders.

Method: Two-hundred and seventy-one individuals with podoconiosis and 268 healthy neighbours (individuals from the nearest household in any direction) were investigated for depressive symptoms using a validated Amharic version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The WHO Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II) tool was used to measure disability.

Reasons for loss to follow-up of patients with podoconiosis in the Amhara Region, northern Ethiopia.

Background: Podoconiosis is a non-infectious form of tropical lymphoedema characterised by swelling of the feet and lower legs. Treatment is simple and effective yet evidence indicates that a proportion of patients become lost to follow-up.

Methods: This study was a quantitative questionnaire-based study which aimed to identify the most common reasons for loss to follow-up of patients.

Barriers to access and re-attendance for treatment of podoconiosis: a qualitative study in northern Ethiopia.

Background: Podoconiosis is a chronic non-infectious lymphoedema affecting individuals exposed to red clay soil in endemic areas. Evidence from International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) treatment centers' registers suggests that a significant proportion of registered patients with podoconiosis fail to re-attend for treatment, putting them at risk of worsening disability associated with the lymphoedema and attacks of acute adenolymphangitis. The aim of this study was to explore barriers to access and re-attendance of patients with podoconiosis in northern Ethiopia.

Mental distress and podoconiosis in Northern Ethiopia: a comparative cross-sectional study.

Background: The stigma, deformity and disability related to most neglected tropical diseases may lead to poor mental health. We aimed to assess the comorbidity of podoconiosis and mental distress.

Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012, including 346 people with podoconiosis and 349 healthy neighbourhood controls.

Podoconiosis patients' willingness to pay for treatment services in Northwest Ethiopia: potential for cost recovery.

Background: Podoconiosis is non-filarial elephantiasis of the lower legs. It is more commonly found in tropical Africa, Central and South America, and northwest India. In Ethiopia, a few non-governmental organizations provide free treatment to podoconiosis patients, but sustainability of free treatment and scale-up of services to reach the huge unmet need is challenged by resource limitations.

Stigma towards a neglected tropical disease: felt and enacted stigma scores among podoconiosis patients in Northern Ethiopia.

Background: Podoconiosis, or non-filarial elephantiasis, is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) characterised by swelling of the lower legs. When left untreated, this disfiguring condition has a significant social impact. This study aimed to describe the stigma experience among podoconiosis patients in Dembecha, Northern Ethiopia and assess potential associations between stigma and sociodemographic determinants.

The impact of podoconiosis on quality of life in Northern Ethiopia.

Background: Podoconiosis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases, which untreated, causes considerable physical disability and stigma for affected individuals. Little is known about the quality of life (QoL) of patients with podoconiosis. This study aimed to assess the QoL of patients with podoconiosis in comparison with healthy controls in Ethiopia.

Patients' perceptions of podoconiosis causes, prevention and consequences in East and West Gojam, Northern Ethiopia.

Background: Podoconiosis is a form of non-filarial elephantiasis that affects barefoot individuals in highland tropical areas. The disease presents with bilateral, asymmetric swelling of the legs, usually confined to below the knee. This study aimed to assess podoconiosis patients' perceptions of prevention, control, causes and familial clustering of the disease, and to document physical, social and economic impairments associated with the disease, with the ultimate aim of enabling development of tailored interventions in this region.

Podoconiosis in East and West Gojam Zones, northern Ethiopia.

Background: Podoconiosis is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that is prevalent in red clay soil-covered highlands of tropical Africa, Central and South America, and northern India. It is estimated that up to one million cases exist in Ethiopia. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of podoconiosis in East and West Gojam Zones of Amhara Region in northern Ethiopia.

Addressing the neglected tropical disease podoconiosis in Northern Ethiopia: lessons learned from a new community podoconiosis program.

Background: Despite its great public health importance, few control initiatives addressing podoconiosis (non-filarial elephantiasis, a geochemical neglected tropical disease) exist. In June 2010, the first podoconiosis program in Northern Ethiopia, consisting of prevention, awareness, and care and support activities, began in Debre Markos, Northern Ethiopia. This study aims to document and disseminate the lessons learned from a new community podoconiosis program in Debre Markos.