Relationship between the social representations of health professionals and people with tuberculosis and treatment abandonment

Abstract

Objective: to relate the social representations of health professionals and people with tuberculosis with treatment abandonment. Method: a descriptive and exploratory study with qualitative approach. Twelve health professionals and eight patients participated from Health Centers in Lima, Peru. Data were collected, between June and July 2012, through semi-structured interviews, analyzed according to content analysis technique. Results: similar content emerged from the analysis of the categories representations of both actors. They present similar aspects such as the treatment of tuberculosis generates suffering, tuberculosis is contagious and causes distancing and isolation, and the lack of knowledge generates treatment abandonment. These representations interfere with the conduct of care and adherence of tuberculosis treatment. Conclusion: there is need for education strategies in a psychosocial approach, considering the multidimensionality of treatment adherence, contributing to the reduction of treatment abandonment rates and the tuberculosis transmission chain.