Disability measurement for lymphatic filariasis: a review of generic tools used within morbidity management programs

Lynne Zeldenryk; Susan Gordon; Marion Gray; Richard Speare; Wayne Melrose

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001768

Disability measurement for lymphatic filariasis: a review of generic tools used within morbidity management programs

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012;6(9):e1768. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001768. Epub 2012 Sep 27.

Authors

Lynne Zeldenryk¹, Susan Gordon, Marion Gray, Richard Speare, Wayne Melrose

Affiliation

¹ School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences, James Cook University, Douglas, Queensland, Australia. lynne.zeldenryk@jcu.edu.au

Abstract

Lymphatic filariasis (LF)-related disability affects 40 million people globally, making LF the leading cause of physical disability in the world. Despite this, there is limited research into how the impacts of LF-related disability are best measured. This article identifies the tools currently being used to measure LF-related disability and reviews their applicability against the known impacts of LF. The findings from the review show that the generic disability tools currently used by LF programs fail to measure the majority of known impacts of LF-related disability. The findings from the review support the development of an LF-specific disability measurement tool and raise doubt about the suitability of generic disability tools to assess disability related to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) globally.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Clinical Medicine / methods*
Disability Evaluation*
Elephantiasis, Filarial / complications*
Elephantiasis, Filarial / pathology*
Humans
Severity of Illness Index*

Grants and funding

The first author has received funding for this study through the Australian Government Australian Postgraduate Award Scheme. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.