Psychosocial Experiences Of Podoconiosis Patients’ The Case Of Wolaitta Zone

The main purpose of this study was to assess the psychosocial experiences of Podoconiosis patients. To this end, the study examined the psychosocial experiences of 120 Podoconiosis patients, of which 12 purposively selected patients participated in the in-depth interview. Patients were selected from patient register document by using systematic sampling. The instruments employed in the study were interviewer-administered questionnaire and semi structured interview. The questionnaire includes social experience measure scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale, and SRQ20. Methods for data analysis employed in the study were descriptive statistics, bivariatecorrelation, and one way ANOVA. The results of quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data disclosed that Podoconiosis patients experience negative social experience like displacement, interpersonal relationship, marriage, and decision making adversities. The patients have low self-esteem and high mental distress. Males experience more negative social experience and high mental distress than females, and the older age group patients’ experience less negative social experience and mental distress than younger Podoconiosis patients. The self-esteem of the patients decreases when their educational status increases, whereas mental distress decreases with increasing educational level. When the severity level of the diseseincreses, their negative social experience and mental distress increases. Sex and severity level have positive correlation with social experience and mental distress, whereas age of the patients is negatively correlated with the social experience and mental distress. Physical disability, economic challenge, absence of counseling service, bad smell of the leg, societal negative reactions were the major glitches hinder Podoconiosis patients from integrating withthe wider community. On the basis of the findings, the study finally provided discussions. Providing counseling services toPodoconiosis patients, integrating the disease into the health care system of the country, and stakeholders’ concerted effort to change the negative psychosocial experiences of the patients were the major recommendations of the study.