Tuberculose: conhecimentos, representações sociais e experiências da doença na visão do portador

Tuberculosis is considered one of the most ancient human diseases, cases were registered 3900 years before Christ, and it is currently regarded as a serious public health problem in the world due to several factors such as income mismanagement, precarious standard of life and some sort of prejudice comprised by the word tuberculosis. Taking this into consideration, it was developed a descriptive and exploratory study aiming at analyzing the social representations of tuberculosis made by its patient from the Unidades de Saúde da Família (Family Health Units a public health program) in Campina Grande City PB, in relation to the decentralization of the policies that administrate the disease. It was interviewed 34 tuberculosis patient that were being treated from 2007 to 2008. The age group of the interviewees varied from 10 to 60 years old, but most of them were between 36 and 60 years old (58,8%, n=20), some were young adult and adult (21 35 years old), with 11 (32,3%) respondents, and, less frequent, children and teenagers (11 20 years old), with 03 (8,8%) participants. Data was collected through semi-structured interview. The questions that guided the research were elaborated based on the operational recommendations of DOTS strategy; that is: access to laboratory examinations; medication guarantee; directly observed treatment. Besides that, the experiences of the patient were considered in their relation with the family and the different social groups. The analysis of the discursive material was submitted to the Analyse Lexicale par Context d un Ensemble de Segments de Texte software - ALCESTE 4.7. Data interpretation showed five categories for the social representations of the tuberculosis patient that participated in DOTS strategy: 1) the accessibility of the health assistance service; 2) the patient perspective of the disease; 3) the change in the operation of the productive life; 4) the signals and symptoms of the tuberculosis disease; 5) the rearrangement and mechanisms used to face the disease. The Central Nucleus reveals that tuberculosis is a transmissible disease that can be prevented by people through educational practices, health promotion, active search for symptomatic respiratory and control of the carriers communication; these mechanisms should be incorporated to the routine of all participants of the family health groups. The Intermediate Elements, based on quotidian life, as well as the individual experiences of the tuberculosis patient, reveals prejudiced attitude and beliefs that lead to isolation and restriction of interpersonal relationship. Peripheral Elements were constituted by themes that showed the patient feelings of indignation because of the social barriers they had to face in the Family Health Units during the treatment. These elements demonstrate a negative perspective of the representation concerning the accessibility, i.e. inadequate structure of the health service; long distance to the Health Centre, this factormakes it difficult for the patient to continue the treatment; scheduling delay; and limited service regarding other requests (doctor, dentist etc). One expects to contribute for the construction of a new perspective of the health question between the different agents who make the assistencial institutions and formation of professionals, either in central or local scope