{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T04:15:55Z","timestamp":1787890555703,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,11]],"date-time":"2025-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754870400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Leprosy elimination has recently re-entered the global health sphere, with the World Health Organisation\u2019s (WHO) \u201cTowards zero leprosy\u201d strategy (2021\u20132030). Previously, its elimination had been defined as a prevalence of less than 1 case per 10,000, which was achieved on a global scale in 2000, leading to a large withdrawal of resources from leprosy control and to neglect on both global and national scales. Despite this, leprosy continued to spread and affect hundreds of thousands of people annually.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The study explores the barriers to leprosy elimination in Bolivia, using a phenomenological approach, to discover the perceptions and experiences of leprosy patients and medical professionals regarding leprosy in Bolivia. It also explores the role of active case finding (ACF) for leprosy elimination in Bolivia. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted in Spanish, mainly at Jorochito Dermatological Hospital, the national referral centre for leprosy in Bolivia.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Barriers to leprosy elimination in Bolivia are present at provider, patient, governmental, societal and community levels. These include poor health financing, untrained workforce, poor treatment adherence, centralised organisation of leprosy diagnosis and treatment and health illiteracy.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The barriers to leprosy elimination in Bolivia are complex, interconnected and embedded in Bolivian society. Leprosy elimination must be given priority on global and national scales to increase funding and importance, to continue ACF activities, and to promote national solutions for sustainable leprosy control.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0013345","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,11]],"date-time":"2025-08-11T17:32:09Z","timestamp":1754933529000},"page":"e0013345","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Barriers to leprosy elimination in Bolivia: Exploring perspectives and experiences of medical professionals and leprosy patients\u2013A phenomenological study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Paula","family":"Messa Carmona","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nita","family":"Chaudhuri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abundio Baptista","family":"Mora","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Deisy Zurita","family":"Paniagua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-1475-9915","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Matthew","family":"Willis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabian","family":"Schlumberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nimer","family":"Ortu\u00f1o-Guti\u00e9rrez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anil","family":"Fastenau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"pntd.0013345.ref001","unstructured":"WHO. 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Eliminate leprosy-related discrimination, prejudice and stigma to end leprosy for good. 2019 [cited 2023]. https:\/\/www.who.int\/southeastasia\/news\/detail\/25-01-2019-eliminate-leprosy-related-discrimination-prejudice-and-stigma-to-end-leprosy-for-good"},{"issue":"4","key":"pntd.0013345.ref030","first-page":"623","article-title":"Mycobacterium leprae: A historical study on the origins of leprosy and its social stigma","volume":"29","author":"L Santacroce","year":"2021","journal-title":"Infez Med"},{"issue":"5","key":"pntd.0013345.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1895","DOI":"10.4103\/jfmpc.jfmpc_2086_20","article-title":"Knowledge, attitude, and health seeking behavior on leprosy among urban adults in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu: A Community-based cross-sectional study","volume":"10","author":"S Gopalakrishnan","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Family Med Prim Care"},{"issue":"12","key":"pntd.0013345.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"296","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed9120296","article-title":"Integrating Community Engagement in Zero Leprosy Efforts: A Pathway to Sustainable Early Detection, Control and Elimination","volume":"9","author":"A Fastenau","year":"2024","journal-title":"Trop Med Infect Dis"},{"key":"pntd.0013345.ref033","volume-title":"Our approach to Active Case Finding","author":"Lepra","year":"2020"},{"issue":"6","key":"pntd.0013345.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0264100","article-title":"Reaching those at risk: Active case detection of leprosy and contact tracing at Kokosa, a hot spot district in Ethiopia","volume":"18","author":"T Lema","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"1","key":"pntd.0013345.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1186\/s40249-023-01153-5","article-title":"Evaluating active leprosy case identification methods in six districts of Nepal","volume":"12","author":"RK Mahato","year":"2023","journal-title":"Infect Dis Poverty"},{"issue":"8","key":"pntd.0013345.ref036","first-page":"937","article-title":"Exploring Active Case Detection Approaches for Leprosy Diagnosis in Varied Endemic Settings: A Comprehensive Scoping Review","volume":"14","author":"H Brown","year":"2024","journal-title":"Life (Basel)"},{"issue":"1","key":"pntd.0013345.ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1038\/s43586-022-00150-6","article-title":"Interviews in the social sciences","volume":"2","author":"E Knott","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat Rev Methods Primers"},{"key":"pntd.0013345.ref038","unstructured":"Edwards R. 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