Compreensão da percepção dos sujeitos sobre o enfrentamento da tuberculose durante a pandemia da covid-19

Abstract

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) still persists as a major challenge to global public health. This challenge has become even greater due to the strong health and social crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This accentuated the fragilities, concerns and fears that permeate the experience of individuals affected by TB, in addition to having a negative impact on the performance of TB control and follow-up actions. In this sense, it is essential to understand how people diagnosed with pulmonary TB experienced the disease during the pandemic period. Objective: To understand the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in coping with tuberculosis in a municipality in northeastern Brazil. Methodology: This is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach, developed in a municipality in the state of Paraíba. The sample was obtained by convenience and theoretical saturation of the data, and consisted of 11 people diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis between 2020 and 2021. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview script, audio recordings with an average duration of 9 minutes. For data processing, the Iramuteq software (Interface de R pour les Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires) was used, and then they were analyzed through the Content Analysis technique proposed by Bardin and the theoretical framework of vulnerabilities. The research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the State University of Paraíba under opinion n. 6.123.440. Results: Government measures such as social distancing contributed to generate or potentiate programmatic vulnerabilities such as: non-performance of home visits and DOT, interruption of treatment, delay and misconceptions in the diagnosis. In addition, the pandemic has accentuated the fear of death if there was contamination with COVID-19. On the other hand, the support of the family, the follow-up of TB treatment by PHC, the care in a welcoming way, the nurse as an enhancer of treatment adherence, and the social isolation itself with a view to reducing prejudice, facilitated coping with the disease. Final Considerations: The urgency and relevance of strengthening policies and investments to maintain TB control and monitoring actions is clear, even in periods of health crisis. In addition, health professionals need to understand how people affected by TB feel and thus offer comprehensive and more humanized care, identifying the health needs of each individual.