Estratégias de enfrentamento de portadores de hanseníase diante da doença.

Abstract

Leprosy is an infectious contagious disease, the main cause of neuritis and physical disabilities in the world. This millennial and socially stigmatized illness leads the individual to face countless conflicts during your treatment. This paper aimed to verify the facing strategies of leprosy patients who face the disease. This is a quantitative and qualitative research of exploratory, descriptive and field chacarter, held with 16 leprosy patients being treated. In order to the characterization of socio-demographic and clinical profile it was used a structured questionnaire script and for the verification of facing strategies was used a range modes of facing problems validated in Brazil by Seidl; Trócoli; Zannon (2001). It is important to mention that this study follows the Guidelines and rules in Human Research, through Resolution 196/96 of the National Health Council. The results show that 68% of employees are male, with age predominant above 58 years, married , Catholic, incomplete elementary education, with a family income from 1 to 2 minimum wages. Most of the population affected has the MB shapes and 25% had physical disabilities in diagnosis. These data reinforce the characterization of the city as endemic and show that the diagnosis is being late, which may contribute to future complications such as installing physical disabilities, but also for the maintenance of the epidemiological chain of the disease and also to the emergence of difficulties in facing the disease. The analysis according to the Collective Subject Discourse shows that the access to information about leprosy is restricted, people's imagination is still permeated by ideas of social exclusion and denial of illness. The nurse emerges as major figure in the process of overcoming the stigmas and guidance for self- care.The facing strategies more used by leprosy patients before the disease correspond to strategies focused on Religiosity, through which the individual seeks to overcome the suffering resulting from the disease process. We note at the results, that health professionals are essential to facing the disease, however there is need for a restructuring of the basic health, with an emphasis on Family Health Strategy, seeking to ensure the actions of Control Program of leprosy.