Hanseníase : estigma e preconceito vivenciados frente ao diagnóstico

Abstract

Leprosy, a millennial disease, still carries prejudice and discrimination rooted in its name. Nowadays, Brazil is the second country in the absolute number of cases of leprosy, presenting a prevalence rate of 1.5 cases/10,000 inhabitants, just behind India. Although there is an effective treatment, the stigma associated with the disease persists in most countries. Stigma is the central key of leprosy's social impact. Its long reach leads to the social exclusion of the patient, to the evasion of services, to the deterioration of individual health and socioeconomic status, to the reduction of the quality and effectiveness of control programs. The objective was to verify the patient's perception regarding the diagnosis of leprosy, in an annual treatment. The study was developed in the municipality of Sinop, Mato Grosso state, and the approach was classified as qualitative research. Patients with leprosy in annual treatment, registered at the Basic Health Unit Jacarandás, participated in the study. Data were col lected using the semi-structured interview, and the results were analyzed in categories, these being the implications on the patient's self-esteem after the diagnosis of leprosy; perception of the patient in the diagnosis of leprosy and changes in the socioeconomic conditions due to leprosy. It was possible to show that leprosy as a public health problem does not restrict the immense number of cases, considering its great potential to cause incapacities, interfering in the biopsychosocial context. It is worth mentioning that leprosy compromises the whole life of the patient, including his physical, mental and social well-being, necessitating an integral care. Through the interviewees' reports, it was possible to prepare a booklet with the main guidelines on disease, transmission and treatment.