Avaliação das percepções e saberes de estudantes de Ciências Biológicas sobre a hanseníase

Abstract

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacilli Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis, which primarily affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the twenty Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), it is present in more than 120 countries, with approximately 200,000 new cases reported annually. Although it is a treatable and curable disease, with free treatment provided by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), the long duration of therapy and the adverse effects of multidrug therapy often result in treatment abandonment, favoring the emergence of resistant strains. When not adequately treated, leprosy can cause physical disabilities and deformities, in addition to being historically marked by strong social stigma, which contributes to the exclusion and discrimination of affected individuals. Brazil ranks second worldwide in number of cases, behind only India. Between 2000 and 2019, 4,533 deaths from leprosy and its sequelae were recorded in the country, with the highest concentration in the Northeast (1,705) and Southeast (1,165) regions (ROCHA et al., 2023). The disease presents two main clinical forms: paucibacillary, with a low bacillary load, and multibacillary, with a higher number of lesions and greater transmission potential. The North, Northeast, and Central-West regions of Brazil have the highest detection rates. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, between 2023 and 2024, a slight increase in cases was observed: 2.6% in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro and 6.3% in São Gonçalo, while Niterói showed a decrease of 38.9%. In this context, this research focused on first-year Biological Sciences undergraduate students at the Faculty of Teacher Training of UERJ (FFP/UERJ), aiming to investigate these future professionals’ knowledge about leprosy. The methodology adopted combined qualitative and quantitative approaches, through the application of a questionnaire with 10 questions, both subjective and objective. Twenty-eight students from the first year of the Biological Sciences course participated in the study. The project was approved by the UERJ Research Ethics Committee, through Plataforma Brasil, under opinion no. 7.069.166. Subjective responses were analyzed based on Bardin’s (2011) Content Analysis methodology, covering the stages of pre-analysis, material exploration, data processing, and interpretation, which enabled the creation of 28 initial categories. Objective data were organized using descriptive statistics, with the elaboration of charts that facilitated the visualization and interpretation of information, allowing for a clear and comparative analysis. To preserve participants’ anonymity, no coding was used. The results revealed that more than 39.1% of students reported never having heard about leprosy, and 87% did not know that leprosy is curable, highlighting significant gaps in the initial training of these future professionals. This study reinforces the importance of combating stigma and disseminating accurate information about the disease.