The leprosy bearers’ contacts in Paracatu (MG), profile, understandings and perceptions

• Autor(a) principal: Ferreira, Iris Leda Camargos Silva Nery
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Outros Autores: Ferreira, Isaias Nery, Morraye, Mônica Andrade
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Hansenologia Internationalis (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.saude.sp.gov.br/hansenologia/article/view/35084
• topic: Prevenção e controle de hanseníase; Promoção de saúde; Leprosy Prevention and contro; health promotion

Leprosy is a serious public health problem in Brazil and especially in the county of Paracatu (MG), a site of priority for the disease control according to the National Program of Leprosy Control due to a high detection rate (17.9%/ 100,000 inhabitants – detection rate in 2008). A significant part of intra domiciliary contacts of the school children treated for leprosy previously (2004 to 2006) were not submitted to the dermato neurological examination. Aims: Identify leprosy intra domiciliary contacts socio economic profile, their awareness about the disease, their perceptions about local health services, and the reasons of not being exanimate. We have developed a semi-structured interview, applied in home visits for 46subjects from 33 families in Paracatu (MG), performed during 2009. Results: Among the 46 intra domiciliary contacts, 61.0% were male, 24.0% aged from 21 to 28 years, 33.0% were fathers of a treated child, 54.0% functionally illiterates, with a low familiar income; 78.0% were residents of periphery neighborhood, with low socio economic conditions and insufficient coverage of sanitary infrastructure. The main reason given for not being submitted to the dermato neurologic examination, by 38.0% of the contacts, was due to work period. About 50.0% of the interviewed referred not know about the risk of acquiring the disease. They suggested an enlargement of the timetables for health services and domiciliary visits, information about the disease, as well as the improvement of health services access. Conclusion: health services reorientation can enhance health promotion actions, disease prevention and adhesion to leprosy treatment.