Knowledge and Management of Buruli Ulcer Disease: A Case Study at Sekyere Afram Plains District of Ashanti Region, Ghana

Introduction: The goal of the study was to assess the knowledge and management of Buruli ulcer disease in the Sekyere Afram Plains District of Ashanti Region.

Methods: The study used a quantitative study type and cross-sectional study design with a sample size of 251 comprising Buruli Ulcer (BU) patients, health workers and community members as study population. The study used a structured questionnaire for the primary data. The questionnaire was used because the respondents were literates and could read and respond to the items without difficulty. Data collected were edited and coded and statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 software. Inferential and Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to describe the study variables. Chi-square (p-values) was used and the data were analyzed in Tables with significance level set at 0.05.

Results: The results revealed that the patient’s knowledge, about BU was 61.9% which was statistically significant (p-value= <0.001). It also revealed association between knowledge on Buruli ulcer and demographic characteristics of respondents (p-value =<0.001). Relatively colossal number of respondents (81.0%) revealed that they were not an active member of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Conclusion: The study concludes that if health workers are trained on BU and more education is given to the community members on Buruli ulcer disease, their health seeking behaviour would be improved to reduce complications associated with Buruli ulcer disease in the District. The study recommends that Ghana Health Service (GHS) should organize training and refresher courses for health care workers to increase their knowledge on Buruli ulcer.