Educational Technologies to Promote Self-Care in People Affected by Leprosy: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: The disabilities caused by leprosy, in addition to being stigmatizing, interfere in the emotional, social, and productive sta-bility of the person affected. For this reason, it must be prevented during treatment and post-discharge, when support for self-care is essential. In this context, it is crucial to use educational technologies that encourage the understanding and incorporation of daily care. Objective: To highlight the contributions of educational technologies used to promote self-care in people affected by leprosy. Mate-rials and Methods: This is a systematic review conducted in Decem-ber 2022, in the SciELO, Cochrane Library, Embase, Lilacs, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases as well as in the gray lite-rature, in which the Catalogue of Theses and Dissertations of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Capes), ProQuest, and OpenGrey were searched. The eligibility criteria consisted of primary studies with people aged 15 or over affected by leprosy; healthcare professionals who provided guidance on self-care to people affected by leprosy; the use of educational technologies to guide self-care; and the contributions of their use to the improvement of self-care. Results: In total, five studies were included; all the manuscripts presented interventions via oral com-munication; there was a significant improvement in adherence to self-care regarding the face, hands, and feet; in addition, there was a minimization of hospital admissions with increased levels of in-dependence when performing activities of daily living. Conclusion: The educational technologies were significant, as there was an increase in the frequency of self-care practices and in adherence to leprosy treatment.