Abstract

LUCIA SOBRINHO, Ana et al. A Hansen's patient perception on their illness. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2023, vol.24, n.1, pp.244-252.  Epub June 30, 2023. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/23psd240121.

The current study aimed to understand the perception of the leprosy patient after the diagnosis of the disease. For this purpose, the method was used a qualitative study of a described-exploratory nature, using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysis of the content collected according to Bardin's proposal. The study included 14 patients who were undergoing treatment at the Health Center of a city in northeastern Brazil in 2019. Of the participants, most were male (71.43%), aged over 50 years (85.71%). They had a deficit in knowledge about the disease, and showed feelings of fear, insecurity, distress and shame when receiving the diagnosis. The study allowed us to understand that the perception of leprosy patients about the disease is a procedure of great importance because it is correlated to the therapeutic resource, the way the patient will see life after being diagnosed.

Keywords : Leprosy; Perception; Prejudice; Diagnosis.

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