Abstract
Objective: to understand the perceptions of people with leprosy about disease and treatment. Methods: qualitative study conducted with nine adults in chemotherapy treatment. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and submitted to content analysis in thematic modality. Results: participants reported a concern, distrust, and resistance to accepting the diagnosis. When diagnosed, they felt shame and fear of suffering prejudice. Living with the disease caused important changes, such as the inability to get out, to exercise or perform leisure activities, but the improvement resulting from treatment reassured them, and the need to care for a dependent care motivated them to do it. Families expressed attention, and care was recognized as important, and the absence of these events meant abandonment and exclusion. Conclusion: people with leprosy have demanded not always identified by health professionals, but they had repercussions in the management of the treatment and welfare of these people.
Highlights
Leprosy is a granulomatous and infectious disease, a chronic disease that manifests mainly by skin lesions with decreased thermal, painful and tactile sensitivity. It comes from an infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. lepra), it has low pathogenicity and high infectivity characteristics and potentially incapacitating(1)
In recent times, with the health care decentralization in Brazil, and with the coordination of the care network to health by the Primary Health Care and the teams of the Family Health Strategy, a person with leprosy started to be treated at home, with his family, and accompanied by professionals working in his residence(3)
Besides the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment in primary care services, they highlight perspectives limited to individual care and that does not cause social mobilization for disease control(4)
Summary
Leprosy is a granulomatous and infectious disease, a chronic disease that manifests mainly by skin lesions with decreased thermal, painful and tactile sensitivity. It comes from an infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. lepra), it has low pathogenicity and high infectivity characteristics and potentially incapacitating(1). Cross-sectional study carried out in Londrina, Brazil, showed that people with leprosy had used the primary health care services, but did not receive the diagnosis of leprosy in these services(4). Besides the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment in primary care services, they highlight perspectives limited to individual care and that does not cause social mobilization for disease control(4)
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