Leprosy and primary health care

Abstract

This paper defines a role for PHC workers in leprosy patient care, and outlines the essential components of a training programme to equip them to fulfill that role. It is based on the assumptions that PHC workers will be supported by an affective system of supervision, and will have the possibility of referring cases beyond their competence to a formal health service unit. It also assumes that while PHC worker trainees may not be fully literate, even in a vernacular, they will at least be able to recognize colour photographs as an acceptable abstraction of reality. This paper is not definitive. It is introductory. It is a hypothesis intended to stimulate experimentation and the development of a valid theory and practice in PHC worker training in leprosy.