Schoolchildren’s knowledge on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of leprosy

Objective: to identify the school’s high knowledge as purpose to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of leprosy. Method: this is about a combined descriptive-exploratory study, with basic education students of schools in the Passagem de Areia neighborhood, in Parnamirim/RN municipality. The instrument used in data collection was a questionnaire with closed questions about leprosy, developed with the Primary Care Booklet No. 21, submitted to the Ethics Committee of Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, with protocol number 085/08. Results: we observed through the pre-test that the Hansen’s disease is a disease little known by the students. Although, after health education actions, it was possible to observe a significative change in the results that confirm the efficacy of the informative lectures on the disease. Conclusion: thus, it is observed the importance of the nursing actions on the continuous development of preventive actions on this disease, having the youth as a disseminative vehicle of information to the family and general community, contributing to the eradication of this disease, once that the prevention breaks the epidemiologic chain of the Hansen’s disease. Descriptors: leprosy; health education; collective health; nursing.RESUMOObjetivo: identificar o conhecimento de escolares de ensino fundamental quanto à prevenção, diagnóstico e tratamento da Hanseníase. Método: estudo exploratório-descritivo combinado, com o publico-alvo alunos do ensino fundamental das escolas do Município de Parnamirim/RN. O instrumento utilizado na coleta de dados foi um questionário com questões fechadas sobre hanseníase, elaboradas com base no Caderno de Atenção Básica nº21, submetido a Comitê de Ética da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, com número de protocolo 085/08. Resultados: verificamos pelo pré-teste que a Hanseníase ainda é pouco conhecida pelos escolares. Entretanto, após ações de educação em saúde houve mudança significativa nos resultados, confirmando a eficácia das palestras sobre ...