Relação entre ambiente familiar e capacidade funcional de idosos residentes no município de Jequié-BA

(Objective) Assess the functional capacity and determine the difference between the means of functional capacity (basic and instrumental activities of daily living) and the age groups of elderly residents in an outlying area in the hinterland of Bahia/Northeast of Brazil. (Methods) Analytical study with cross-sectional design and a sample of 150 elderly individuals enrolled in four Health Units in the municipality of Jequié, Bahia, Brazil. The instrument consisted of sociodemographic and health data, the Barthel Index and the Lawton scale. (Results) In all, 78.00% of the elderly were classified as dependent in the basic activities and 65.33% in the instrumental activities of daily living. Using the Kruskal- Wallis test, we found a statistically significant difference between the means of instrumental activities and the age groups (p= 0.011). (Conclusion) An elevated number of elderly were classified as dependent in terms of functional capacity and increased age is related to greater impairment in the execution of instrumental activities of daily living

Doença cardiovascular em mulheres com histórico de pré-eclâmpsia e seguimento no sistema único de saúde

The aim of the present study was to analyze cardiovascular risk of women with a history of preeclampsia, as well as its follow-upin the National Health System.This is a cross-sectional quantitative research conducted at the Januário Cicco Maternity School. The study population was composed of 573 women selected from a databank belonging to the Women s Health Research Group of the Gynecology Department at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, with a history of preeclampsia, and normotensives who gave birth at this institution five years before. The final sample consisted of 147 women, 64 in the group with a history of PE and 83 normotensives. Data were collected on a questionnaire containing the following: sociodemographic aspects, anthropometric measures, life habits, personal and family history of pregnancy-induced hypertension, family history of cardiovascular diseases and frequency of measuring current blood pressure levels. In relation to the association between cardiovascular risk and altered blood pressure (≥130x85 mmHg), the likelihood of exhibiting the latter condition was significantly higher in women with a history of preeclampsia (CI 95% 4.12-38.92), the overweight and obese (CI 95% 1.70-20.75), and in those with a family historyof CVD and personal history of PIH (CI 95% 0.78-47.07 and CI 95% 3.20-25.39) respectively. Likewise, the probability of having altered blood pressure was higher in women with fasting glycemia ≥100mg/dL (CI 95% 2.09-24.73), as well as in those with triglycerides ≥150mg/dl (CI 95% 1.72-9.66). After fitting the logistic model, diagnosis previous preeclampsia and altered triglycerides remained as explanatory variables.The women with a history of preeclampsia five years before exhibited altered blood pressure levels, clinical and laboratory manifestations suggestive of elevated risk for cardiovascular disease, as well as family and personal history of hypertension. There is no differential treatment or adequate outpatient follow-up for this population in basic health care units

Qualidade de vida, funcionalidade e morbidade referida : avaliação em idosos na atenção básica de saúde

Demographic and epidemiological transformations have led to an increase in elderly populations in the world, and chronic diseases become the main health problem in this population, with consequences for the independence and autonomy, and interfering in the lifestyle and daily activities, and may decrease the welfare and quality of life. So, there is an urgent need for multidisciplinary research on the quality of life, understood as a multidimensional and subjective concept, as well as the associated factors, such as health habits, presence of chronic conditions and functional capacity. Thus, In qualitative terms, the Article 1 provides an assessment and perception of the elderly about their quality of life. Article 2, in turn, presents the results of more extensive quantitative research, which can be seen that age, presence of chronic diseases and depression were associated with the quality of life. Thus, we discuss the need for action was planning and health strategies, with interdisciplinary approach, considering the environmental context and reality of family elders, promoting quality in the process of aging

O impacto do programa do leite na vda familiar dos beneficiários do Rio Grande do Norte - Natal

This present study aims to identify and evaluate the impacts caused by the state Programa do Leite in the familiar life of the ones that get this benefit in Natal, from 2003 to 2008. The interviews were done in the four areas of the city and show the high level of poverty of the ones registered in the benefit. The introduction of the families in the program changed their habits. The study also shows the fragility of the poor population inside social welfare works like this one. Some of these programs become permanent by the politicians and by the lack of economic independence of the ones that get the benefit, causing much more dependence of these people on the social program

Limites e possibilidades do programa nacional de alimentação escolar enquanto estratégia de promoção da segurança alimentar e nutricional no municipio de Macaíba/RN

This dissertation aims to understand the importance of the National School Feeding as a strategy for ensuring the promotion of food and nutrition security in the municipality of Macaíba / RN, taking into account the implementation of the Law School Feeding, 11,947, 2009. The program was extended to all public basic education, youth and adults, in addition to ensuring that 30% of transfers from FNDE, were intended for the purchase of products from family farms. The survey was conducted with 160 students from public schools and farmers nesting Quilombo dos Palmares II, who produce on their land vegetables, fruits and cereals for their own consumption, for sale in local markets, in addition to providing for PNAE. The reciprocity between neighbors, such as mutual aid and sharing of common goods was noticeable in this group of farmers, since it was necessary to meet weekly deliveries of products to schools. As students, we applied a test of acceptability in two schools located in rural and in urban areas, to learn the opinion of ourselves in relation to school food consumed. It was concluded that to be most effective program in the region, there must be a better match in school menus, so that it can be attractive to students and to ensure greater use of fresh food, the main ingredient of same, practice of nutrition education in schools, to teach students the importance of food to health. In relation to local management, noted the need for adjustments bureaucratic as hiring staff for the departments, in order to be more agile in releasing payments to farmers, in addition to hiring assistants general services for schools, one Since the cooks exert dual role, the cooking while being responsible for cleaning the entire school environment. Government investments in the rural sector would be extremely valuable for farmers, since they need financial resources to purchase inputs, irrigation projects for gardens, availability of land for planting, transportation to facilitate the delivery of its products to schools and technical assistance more frequently

Avaliação do programa saúde da família no Rio Grande do Norte

The Family Health Program implemented in Brazilian municipalities from 1994 represents today the most promising proposal to promote important changes in municipality`s health systems, to allow universal access to health care, comprehensiveness, equity and to promote social control, achievements provided by the health reform process and incorporated to the Unified Health System principles. However, many are the challenges imposed to the Family Health Program so that it can cause these advances. In this study, we aimed to answer the following research question: what are the results of the Family Health Program in relation to beneficiaries at small, medium and large municipalities? The hypothesis that guided this work was that the variation in levels of achievement/results (strict, impacts and effects) of the Family Health Program is related to the size of the municipalities. Therefore, our general aim was to evaluate the results of the Family Health Program in municipalities at Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. And as specific objectives, to measure strict results, effects and impacts of the Program, from the criteria of efficiency and effectiveness on the beneficiated population, and to measure the Program`s impact on the organization of municipality`s health system. This is an impact assessment research, developed from multiple case studies with quanti-qualitative approach. The study included small municipalities (Acari and Taipu), midsize (Canguaretama and Santa Cruz) and large (Natal and Mossoró). The individuals chosen to the research were users/beneficiaries of the Program and health professionals. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and content analysis compared from the Program`s logical /theoretical model. The results obtained in relation to the principles evaluated (universality, comprehensiveness and community participation) presented that municipalities show different results, although not directly related to the size, but related with characteristics of the Program`s implementation form in each municipality and the arrangements made for its operationalization. The positive effect that generated significant change in people`s lives has been linked to the increase of access and to the decrease of geographic barriers. However, to the municipal health system, regarding the changes desired by the Program, it was not observed a positive impact, but a negative impact related to the increase of barriers for the user to access other levels of the health system

Representações sociais e práticas discursivas de profissionais do programa saúde da família sobre o pré-natal

The present study had the objective to identify to the Social Representations of the professionals of medicine and nursing superior level of the Program Health of the Family concerning the assistance for the gestation. The research was qualitative under the optics of the Theory of the Social Representations of Serge Moscovici, of the Central Nucleus of Jean-Claude Abric and of the Analysis of Content of Laurence Bardin. We worked with the following instruments for the collection of data: Questionnaires, with social-demographic data; Free association of Words, with the inductive terms Pregnancy, Assistance for Gestation and Care; Production of mental image and half-structuralized Interview, with the following question: What does the assistance for the gestation represent for you? . We interviewed all the professionals of nursing and medicine of the Program Health of the Family in the city of Santa Cruz /RN (ten for each profession) in the period of February and March of 2007. From the analysis of the social-demographics data, we respectively identified the following percentages for nursing and medicine: the feminine sex for nursing predominated (90%); the age between 24 and 33 (70 and 60%); the religion catholic (80 and 50%) and 50% of the two groups has up to two years of formation and work in the score of the research. The analysis of the others instruments resulted in two categories: Institutionalized vision and Vision of the Common-sense. In the free association of words, the category institutionalized vision is configured as Central Nucleus and of the common sense one as nucleus Peripheral, demonstrating that the Social Representations of the assistance for the gestation attendance are in the universes consensual. In the mental images, we identified to this same construction. In the content of the interviews, the institutionalized vision is permeated by the responsibility of making and the availability of having - assistance for the gestation is recommended by the Health department and necessary genders - while the vision of the common-sense can be represented by the category sort, whose role of professionals of the assistance for the gestation is to strengthen the responsibility for the woman of a maternity socially constructed. In short, the analyzed speeches reflect that, to the knowledge acquired in the academy, are incorporated in the knowledge of the daily professional, and conducted by popular myths. Medicine and nursing recognize the importance of the attendance in such a way for the chance to educate the women for the maternity as for the possibility to prevent complications, but in its speeches they had excluded from this process the masculine figure. We conclude that the meaning of the inductive term take care, part of the common-sense and is incorporated the institutionalized speech to humanize the assistance. However, the pregnancy ceases from being seen in its natural biological direction and starts to be analyzed as a moment of fragility and predisposition the illnesses. Finally, the social nursing and the central nucleus representations for the assistance in gestation for medicine is anchored in the speeches institutionalized and of the common-sense, reflecting the concern in establishing a humanized assistance with quality

Prática do enfermeiro do Programa Saúde da Família PSF na promoção da saúde do adolescente

Attention to the health of adolescents, based on paradigm flexneriano, needs to be overcome. Since the International Conference of Ottawa (1986), the literature is developing a discussion of the promotion of health, based on the paradigm of social production in health, suggests a design to overcome the health care traditional practices. Program Health of the Family PSF has this purpose to transmute the model of existing assistance, where the nurse is an essential element to the work done in the program. Around this context, it is our purpose to analyze the practice of nurse of the PSF for the promotion of health of adolescents, produced by a search of descriptive quantitative approach with the inclusion of qualitative data. Interviews were conducted with 9 nurses 3 units of health of the family USF, Mossoró-RN and applied questionnaires with 74 teenagers aged between 15 and 19 years old, with some nearby public schools where USF operate these nurses. The quantitative descriptions were transformed on tables, pictures and graphics using the program Excel (Microsoft) and the qualitative were worked through the technique of analyzing the content of Bardin (2004). The review was realized using the reference to promote health brought by the study. The results show that the most common problems that happen with teenagers are the drugs (33,8%), pregnancy (27,0%) and political problems-socio-economic-cultural issues (24,3%). Adolescents are spontaneous demand and rarely seek the USF. The actions presented by the nurses as, lectures and groups, are nothing comparing to the macro-problems presented by adolescents, and verticalized irregular. The nurses know the promotion of health generally, not explaining how operate it from its daily practice. Concluded that the practice of nurse of the PSF has not yet reach the promotion of health of the adolescent, being necessary to scheduling modules on the subject to continuous training of teams, professionals from USF, as well as teachers and other staff of schools, giving space to the participation of academic. The discussions should be socialized with the community to discuss possibilities of confrontation of the problems, which also require socio-structural changes. This research can contribute as work-diagnosis, which experienced the reality of care in nursing PSF to a specific group

Estudo representacional da participação familiar nas atividades dos centros de atenção psicossocial no município de Natal-RN

Comprehending social representations of users relatives of Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS) from Natal-RN, about their participation in the activities of these services, was the purpose of this study. The research instrument used was a semi-structured interview, led to 28 relatives of users of East and West CAPS II, East and North CAPS-ad, involved in the Relative Therapeutic Group, in Relative Meeting, in the Assembly of Users, Technicians and Relatives, according to the therapeutic schedule of each health services, between August to November 2007. Data obtained in family and users identification were characterized with the aid of charts and boards in absolute and/or percentage values. The discursive material from the guide from interviews was submitted to the informational resource ALCESTE (Analyse Lexicale par Contexte d'un Ensemble of Segments of Texte), and analyzed on the basis of the Theory of Social Representations and Central Nucleus Theory. Most of the relatives were women, married, aged over 50 years, who participated for more than two years in CAPS activities, and a coexistence of more than 11 years with the user. From the classification system of ALCESTE were selected categories, identified by: Category 1, Treatment Improvements and Expectations; Category 2, Living User Before and After; Category 3, Activities Relevance, Contradictions and Suggestions; Category 4, Guidelines -- Psychopharmacology and Medicalization; Category 5, Family Participation and Activities; and Category 6, Therapeutic Conditions Thanks, Tips and Vulnerability. The social representation of the family exists in the desire for change, identifying that we need to promote change by the continuity of therapeutic activities and overcome the detected inconsistencies, targeted by strengthening and by the stability of improvements in living and health conditions of users, experienced in CAPS treatment. The central nucleus had corresponded to positive changes in health and living conditions of users, and the peripheral elements were constituted by family conducts before and during treatment, and the expectations of changes in activities, especially in workshops. Despite this family participation be considered important, it still does not meet conditions to promote the inclusion of family, under an emancipating point of view, capable of causing in subject the hope for autonomy, initiative, individual and collective growths, a closer and active involvement in therapeutic activities, in workshops and discussions

Conhecimento dos adolescentes sobre métodos contraceptivos: pesquisa-ação em uma unidade do programa saúde da família de Natal

It is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach, and an action-research type, which aimed to analyze the changes of knowledge about contraceptive methods invested to a teenager group attended in Igapó Family Healthcare Unit, in the city of Natal/RN, after consent and institutional assent of Ethics Committee of Rio Grande do Norte Federal University (Protocol No. 131/07). It were researched 16 teenagers of both sexes, with age ranging from 11 to 16 years. We used two structured questionnaires, one in the initial diagnosis and another during the seven meetings of the focus group, in addition to the field notes and the meetings discussions transcriptions. The data-collection was performed in the period of two months by a team composed by a nurse the research coordinator, a dentist, a nursing assistant, a community-based healthcare worker and a nursing academic. The quantitative and qualitative data were organized, tagged and categorized into spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel, being held a thematic analysis of speeches performed by the study participants. The results were presented as tables, graphics, photos, drawings and word clippings. The educational strategy developed in focus group allowed adolescents to discuss, exchange ideas and opinions on several contraceptive methods, providing expansion in knowledge of all contraceptives discussed, especially those natural and surgical, which were less mentioned at the beginning of the study. Among the advantages of the contraceptive methods listed by teenagers, was highlighted avoiding pregnancy and STDs in use of the barrier method of condom. As for the disadvantages more frequently noted by the survey with the misuse of barrier methods, was highlighted get pregnant, acquire STD's and do not prevent STD's in hormonal, natural and surgical methods. Adolescents showed consistency between the advantages and disadvantages and types of contraceptive methods, showing a widening in knowledge among them. It may be said that, in general, those surveyed had a good understanding about the use of the various contraceptive methods. Thus, the study participants had positively evaluated all the criteria used to qualify the meetings in the focus group. The action strategy of the focus group should be encouraged by professionals who work with teenagers, since they prefer to live in groups, one characteristic of adolescence.

A fragilidade e suas representações para idosos domiciliados no contexto da estratégia de Saúde da Família

This study aims to analyze social representations of elders to their fragile situation at home, with the presence of one or more characteristics, as defined by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. It is a descriptive and qualitative study, based on methodological -principles of the Theory of Social Representations. Setting was the homes of elderly residents in the area ascribed to a Family Health Unit (FHU) in the city of Natal. A total of 10 elderly subjects, whose choice was intentional and according to the need for USF home visit in a period of time, considering the saturation process of the information. As collection procedures were used the semi-structured interview and participant observation in accordance with the ethical rules of Resolution No. 196/96, with the assent of the Ethics and Research UFRN. To analyze the results, it was used the thematic content analysis in the aspect of preparation of representations, focusing on the totality of the discourse of the subjects. The results indicate that most study participants felt difficult to give meaning to the terms weakness and to be weak, although many present one or more aspects of the syndrome of frailty. From the content analysis of participants speeches in this study, we achieved the following categories: fragility as illness and disease as aging, aging and frailty as causes of changes and difficulties in daily life, the presence of family life in the fragile elderly, fragility as weakness and the risk for falls, the perception of being weak like a different person in addition to the absence of fragility in elderly life. Thus, through the processes of anchoring and objectification, the "fragile being" became familiar and concrete, showing that the meaning of weakness, besides the scientific definition found in the reified universes, can be reinterpreted and built within the consensus universes. About the care received by the staff of Family Health, from the viewpoint of older people there seems to be an understanding about the role of professional nurses; on the other hand, older people often mention the role of the Community Health Agent

O homem na estratégia de saúde da família

The research aimed to understand the general perception of men about their health care in a health unit família. This is an exploratory and descriptive qualitative approach, developed at the Center for Health Dr Vulpiano Cavalcante in the City of Parnamirim / RN. Participated in the investigation 12 men enrolled in the Estratégia de Saúde da Família ESF (Family Health Strategy), in the age-group 20 to 59 years lived in the catchment area of one of the ESF teams unit above. Data were collected from July to August 2009, through structured interviews, which, after transcription have undergone a process of identifying meaning units, coded and categorized according to the precepts of content analysis according to Bardin. Following in the footsteps of this method, originated the following themes: "Revealing what motivates men to seek assistance in the Estratégia de Saúde da Família," "Expressing knowledge of the Estratégia de Saúde da Família ", "an opinion about the care health and relationship with the ESF. The analysis was processed according to the principles of symbolic interactionism as Blumer. To support the discussions were used literary themes about man in the context of public health policies and the man in the family and the influences of gender. These, when they had their properties and dimensions analyzed, raised the central category Man on the Estratégia de Saúde da Família . The results show that respondents have limited knowledge about the ESF, your actions turn to use the service when no obligation arising from discomforts and accuracy of care. Moreover, delivering the opinion of the care with your health, even need, but recognizing that do not perform self-care. Given this reality, we can conclude that the perception of the man about his health in the ESF permeates gender issues that influence their behavior toward disease prevention and health promotion. This situation requires that the professionals and managers of health initiatives for the inclusion of man in the actions of the ESF assistance starting from the understanding of their conceptions of health care.

Trânsito de saberes e campo representacional na visão dos profissionais da saúde da família e do programa de educação pelo trabalho e para a saúde

The Family Health Strategy (ESF) is emerging as a possible restructuring of services and new practices of intervention in health care; it requires skilled professionals to work with that framework. Within this purpose, we established the Education Programme for Work and Health (PET-Saúde), in order to integrate teaching and service activities, focusing on primary care. On this basis, the aim of this work is to apprehend the social representation of nurse, doctor and dentist (Project PET-Natal Health RN preceptors) on the ESF, while practice field of them. It is a descriptive and exploratory study, with a qualitative approach, carried out in 07 Family Health Units (USF) included in the PET-Saúde Natal (RN). The population was composed of 35 professional components of the primary care team with bachelor's degree of the USF linked to this project. The sample was composed of 05 nurses, 05 physicians and 05 dentists, for a total of 15 subjects. Data were collected through three instruments: the drawing-themed story, a semi-structured individual interviews and field diary. The data relating to the identification of the subjects were entered and tabulated by the Microsoft Excel software 2007 version. The drawing analysis and interpretation is given by the significance attributed to the resource chart from title and keywords assigned by the subjects, considering the ESF as an inductive term. The stories and interviews were transcribed and typed and then subjected to read/listen the material and a lexical analysis through Alceste. After this process, the discursive material was analyzed and discussed by theoretical and methodological feature of the Social Representations theory. The majority of health professionals were female, aged between 46 and 52 years old, married, income less than six minimum wage, time since graduation ranged from 22 to 29 years and working time in the ESF range from 02 to 11 years. From the classification system ALCESTE were selected categories identified by: Category 1 - ESF: relations and territory; Category 2 - Training and bond profile; Category 3 - Working process in the ESF; Category 4 - Articulation between teaching and service; Category 5 - Health care and disease prevention. The representational field construction, while a process, followed the logic of structural cores in existing categories. In this sense, it is clear that the ESF is an environment rich in diversity, experience and relationships with potential such as the relationship "very subject-subject" and the link established between professional-community, but also has some weaknesses such as poor working conditions, lack of popular participation and management support, thus difficulties in the achievement of teamwork. Being essential to that end, the teaching-service aimed at the formation of a new health professional able to work in the ESF. In this research, the training of the representational field encountered a diversity of structural cores, or thoughts on training, about the ESF because of the greater emphasis on the here and now of the interaction between health professionals, the ESF, the community, PET Health-UFRN and students, emphasizing that such proposals are still considered as concepts in the context of recent health and that, therefore, are not fully realized in the social imaginary

Qualidade de vida de pessoas com úlcera venosa: associação dos aspectos sociodemográficos, de saúde, assistência e clínicos da lesão

Venous ulcer (VU) is a lower limbs injury resulting from inadequate return of venous blood in feet or legs. Although it is not a deadly disease, it causes chronic wounds, which seriously undermine patients´ quality of life (QOL) and sometimes leads to drastic family, social, economic and psychological changes. In this sense, there are several aspects that may influence the venous ulcers patients´ QOL. The study´s objective aimed on the association of socio-demographic and health, health care and clinical injury on UV patients‟ QOL. Analytical studies, which consider the complexity of factors involved in changes in UV patients‟ QOL has a cross-sectional and quantitative approach. The HUOL Ethics Committee approved this project (n.279/09). The collection of data lasted a period of 3 months in 2010 and it took place at the clinic of Angiology at Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes (HUOL). The data sample consisted of 60 patients treated by UV angiologists in the HUOL Surgical Clinic. The results were analyzed with SPSS 15.0 by descriptive and inferential statistics. The study was based on UV patients that were predominantly female, average age of 61.4 years, that had low education level and low family income, with occupations requiring long periods of standing or sitting, but mostly retired, unemployed or laid off due to the disease and/or due to chronic diseases associated with the UV. The study took also into consideration patients that used inappropriate products, that were improperly treated by a professional caregiver, that lacked of adequate guidance and compression therapy, that performed no lifting of the lower limbs and regular exercise, that the time of injury were greater than or equal to six months, that were missing specific laboratory tests. The study‟s reference were on recurrent lesions, medium to large lesions area, bed of the lesion (injuries) with fibrin and/or necrosis, with amount of exudate with medium to large, odorless and no signs of infection, with tissue loss between 1st and 2nd degree, without collecting swab or biopsy and with pain. In general, QOL of researched individuals were considered low, the maximum score was 69 points, which the areas that were mostly influenced were the total scores of QOL functional capacity (0.021), emotional (0.000) and social functioning (0.080). Of the 60 individuals, 53.3% had scores between 40 and 69 points in SF-36, and they had the best scores in sociodemographic and health variables (ρ = 0.049). In respect to the assistance and injury characteristics, patients who scored between 40 and 69 points in SF-36 had better scores on these characteristics. By combining the socio-demographic variables, health, and handling characteristics of the injury, we observed a significant difference (ρ = 0.032) when linking them with the QOL total scores. When analyzing separately the domains of the SF-36 scores on the quality of life, we find that the areas that showed statistical significance were functional ability (ρ = 0.035), appearance (ρ = 0.019), emotional (ρ = 0.000), and mental health (ρ = 0.050). Among the socio-demographic characteristics studied, gender and marital status contributed more to the reduction of QOL and among the variables of assistance and the injury, orientation, reference and area of UV contributed the most. By analyzing these five variables all together in accordance with the overall score obtained in the quality of life, we found a significant correlation (ρ = 0.002); with 6.23 times more chances of patients have better QOL in the presence of these five positive factors. By conducting the Mann Whitney U test between all the five demographic variables, health, and clinical care, we found that this combination also proved to be significant (ρ = 0.006). Therefore, patients with these five variables positive tend to have a better QOL. Based on these results, we reject the null hypothesis (H0) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H1) proposed in this study because we noted that the QOL of patients with UV is associated with sociodemographic and health, health care and clinical aspects of the injury

Educação em saúde em hanseníase: estratégia na educação básica, Parnamirim/RN

Leprosy is an ancient disease that still stands as a public health problem worldwide, especially in the considered developing countries. Of these, Brazil still has large areas of endemicity. The disease remains high among those younger than 15 years old. In this group, the national index achieves 0.6 every 10 000 inhabitants and reaches 2 in the North and Midwest of Brazil. Therefore, the plan of the Ministry of Health is to prioritize the fight against disease in critical areas, providing early diagnosis and timely treatment, especially for patients under 15 years old. This research aimed to: identify the knowledge of students from three schools of basic education in Parnamirim/RN about the risk of getting ill in leprosy; conduct them health education on this topic. An exploratory-descriptive study with quantitative and qualitative nature. Data collection consists of two steps: questionnaire and health education on leprosy. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of UFRN through the opinion nº 204/2009. Quantitative data obtained were organized, categorized, typed and submitted to the Microsoft Office - Excel for quantitative analysis with simple percentage. Qualitative data were subjected to a content analysis according to Bardin. The sample consisted of 164 students of basic education, most of which is: 1st year of high school, from 11 to 15 years, in the afternoon shift, female gender, skin color white and residents in the municipality of Parnamirim/RN. Still, each student living with four people curiously did not respond in relation to occupation of the father. But the same answered their mother as a housewife and a family income of one to less than four minimum wages. There have been significant results compared the performance of health education in leprosy. Initially, students possessed little knowledge about leprosy. Subsequent to health education, most knew the answer about the disease, transmission, cause, where to get help in case of suspicion of leprosy and the need for the people who lives with leprosy patients to also seek for help, the understanding about if it is treatable or not. Content analysis has established the following themes: axis I, what I do not know about leprosy: cure, fear and prejudice. Axis II, what I know about leprosy, we identified: cure, effectiveness of health education and social exclusion in the past. It is considered the scope of the proposed objectives by matching the effectiveness of health education on leprosy in basic education in Parnamirim/RN; emphasizes, therefore, the importance of understanding the knowledge of public school students. It is expected of them to detect early cases of leprosy in their communities; encourage adherence to treatment as quickly as possible; prevent disability; reduce the stigma surrounding the disease.