Desafios no diagnóstico na perspectiva da pessoa atingida pela hanseníase, em um município hiperendêmico.

Abstract

Leprosy, an infectious disease, with high incapacitating power, uses undiagnosed patients as a mean of maintenance of the chain of transmission, as well as the increase of the chances of physical incapacities and deformities. The study aimed to investigate the challenges faced by people affected with leprosy to obtain a diagnosis, in the municipality of Cajazeiras, Paraíba. This is an exploratory descriptive study, with a qualitative approach, carried out by 13 people affected with leprosy under treatment in the Family Health Units. Data collection was done through the semi-structured interview script. The data were organized and analyzed according to the Bardin content analysis technique. The results showed that the majority of the cases were multibacillary, a dimorphic clinical form with some degree of disability. It was identified that the challenges for the diagnosis in the Family Health Units were difficulties to obtain it as referral for reference, error and doubts in the diagnosis; time longer than six months for elucidation, characterizing a late diagnosis and a predominance of centralized care. It is concluded that the challenges in the diagnosis of leprosy are due to the lack of interest in the leprosy, lack of professional training and lack of knowledge of the population about this disease.