Nurses' assistance to leprosy patients: narrative review

Abstract

This article sought to discuss leprosy, its manifestations and its types based on the severity it is in, with the objective of assessing the population's level of knowledge about leprosy, its stages and its forms of manifestations, seeking to understand the feelings and the degree of knowledge and care of the patient and family in relation to the disease, in the period from 2008 to 2019. This is a narrative / critical study: of a descriptive-discursive character, through bibliographic review, collected from the database. SCIELO, PUBMED data, full texts and scientific articles were used. In view of the above, it was observed that there is still a deficit in the dialogue and in the information on the part of some professionals with patients and family members in relation to the feelings, anxieties and fears about the forms and signs of the disease. It was concluded that there is little knowledge of the population about leprosy, mainly in relation to the various forms of manifestations and contagion, as well as about treatment and cure. Because it is of fundamental importance to involve everyone in this data collection and also to guide them about the disease and its risks, in addition to raising awareness in the community through actions, lectures, and active search, and making the necessary referrals.