Steps Toward Creating A Therapeutic Community for Inpatients Suffering from Chronic Ulcers: Lessons from Allada Buruli Ulcer Treatment Hospital in Benin

摘要

BackgroundReducing social distance between hospital staff and patients and establishing clear lines of communication is a major challenge when providing in-patient care for people afflicted by Buruli ulcer (BU) and chronic ulcers. Research on hospitals as therapeutic communities is virtually non-existent in Africa and is currently being called for by medical anthropologists working in the field of health service and policy planning. This paper describes a pioneering attempt to establish a therapeutic community for patients suffering from BU and other chronic ulcers requiring long term hospital care in Benin.