Neglected Patients with a Neglected Disease? A Qualitative Study of Lymphatic Filariasis

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a tropical disease causing extreme swelling of the limbs and male genitals. Despite recent successes in preventing transmission of the disease, some 40 million people worldwide who already have the disease have been largely neglected. We aimed to increase understanding of how this vulnerable, neglected group can be helped, by asking people with LF in Sri Lanka to recount their own experiences

Urban Poverty in Sri Lanka: Critical Issues and Policy Measures

An unusual feature of Sri Lanka’s development during the four decades after independence has been the relatively slow growth of the urban sector. According to census data, the share of the urban population in the total population increased from 15.4 per cent in 1946 to 21.4 per cent in 1981. These data, which are based on the administrative definition of what is urban, tend to underestimate the actual extent of urbanization. But even after making corrections for this, the level of urbanization remains low. The slow expansion of the urban sector has been the result of a combination of economic, social and political factors

Rural Poverty in Sri Lanka: Priority Issues and Policy Measures

Rural poverty in Sri Lanka has to be analyzed and evaluated in the context of development policies and the socioeconomic transformation that has taken place during the last four decades. These policies have resulted in a configuration of development that is unusual for a low-income developing country. On the human development index, Sri Lanka ranks above 82 other developing countries, including Brazil, Jordan, Thailand, Turkey and Philippines. The annual rate of population growth has dropped to 1.3 per cent and Sri Lanka is expected to reach the net rate of reproduction of 1 by 1995, well ahead of other Asian developing countries, with the possible exception of the Republic of Korea and Thailand. Infant mortality is falling below 20 per 1,000 live births, average life expectancy has reached approximately 70 years and adult literacy is 87 per cent. As about 75 per cent of the population live in rural areas, these social and demographic indicators reflect improvements affecting the rural sector. Data from socioeconomic surveys confirm no significant rural-urban disparities in these indicators

The Four Ladders Framework for Analysis of Qualitative Interview Data on Lymphatic Filariasis, Sri Lanka.

<p>The Four Ladders Framework for Analysis of Qualitative Interview Data on Lymphatic Filariasis, Sri Lanka.</p

Sample Distribution—Interviewees by Sex, Lymphoedema Grade, and Income Category.

a<p>Stage of lymphoedema is taken from Dreyer et al. <a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000128#pntd.0000128-Dreyer1" target="_blank">[22]</a>, who identify up to 7 stages. Stages 6 and 7 are more extreme than stage 5 and were not encountered in patients in this study.</p