Strengthening individual and family resilience against leprosy-related discrimination: A pilot intervention study

Experiences of living with leprosy: A systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the review was to identify, appraise, and synthesise qualitative studies on the lived experience of individuals diagnosed with leprosy, the impact of the disease, and how they coped with the disease burden.

INTRODUCTION

Leprosy is a chronic disease with long-term biopsychosocial impact and is a leading cause of preventable disabilities. It traps the individuals with leprosy in a vicious circle of disease, stigma, and poverty. The efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination and improve their quality of life have not kept pace with the success of the multidrug treatment.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

This review considered published literature on the lived experience of individuals diagnosed with leprosy. There were no limitations on gender, background, or country. All qualitative or mixed-methods studies were accepted.

METHODS

The review followed the JBI meta-aggregation approach for qualitative systematic reviews. A structured literature search was undertaken using multiple electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL.

RESULTS

The search identified 723 publications, and there were 446 articles after deduplication. Forty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The final 173 findings were synthesised into ten categories and aggregated into four synthesised findings: biophysical impact, social impact, economic impact, and mental and emotional impact. These synthesised findings were consistent across the included studies from a patient's perspective. The way people coped with leprosy depended on their interpretation of the disease and its treatment. It affected their help-seeking behaviour and their adherence to treatment and self-care. The review has identified a multi-domain effect on the affected individuals, which goes beyond the biological and physical effects, looking at the social issues, specific difficulties, emotions, and economic hardships.

CONCLUSIONS

The researchers, health professionals, and policymakers could use the synthesised findings to address the concerns and needs of the leprosy-affected individuals and offer appropriate support to manage their lives.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER

PROSPERO Registration number: CRD42021243223.

Sociodiscursive representations about leprosy in educational campaigns: implications on stigma reduction

OBJECTIVES

to analyze the socio-discursive representations about leprosy produced in posters of educational campaigns of the Brazilian Ministry of Health.

METHODS

a documentary and discursive research about posters of campaigns about leprosy produced by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and available on Google Search Images. For the analysis, we used the Critical Discourse Analysis approach and the Grammar of Visual Design.

RESULTS

the socio-discursive representations of leprosy are based on the biomedical ideology, through a normative-curative discourse that focuses on the dermatological manifestations of the disease. Regarding the construction of the compositional space, there are posters that emphasize the meaning that the disease does not prevent affectionate relationships, and others highlight as "new" the clinical manifestations of the disease.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

the normative-curative discourse produced in the campaigns is not enough to face stigma related to the disease. For leprosy to be understood as a common chronic disease, it is first necessary to fight the "social leprosy": the stigma.

Representações sociodiscursivas sobre a hanseníase em campanhas educativas: implicações na redução do estigma

RESUMO Objetivos: analisar as representações sociodiscursivas sobre hanseníase produzidas em cartazes de campanhas educativas do Ministério da Saúde do Brasil. Métodos: pesquisa documental e discursiva acerca de cartazes de campanhas sobre hanseníase produzidas pelo Ministério da Saúde do Brasil e disponibilizadas no Google Search Imagens. Para análise, usou-se a abordagem da Análise Crítica do Discurso e a Gramática do Design Visual. Resultados: as representações sociodiscursivas sobre hanseníase se pautam na ideologia biomédica, mediante um discurso normativo-curativista que focaliza as manifestações dermatológicas da doença. Com relação à construção do espaço composicional, há cartazes que enfatizam a significação de que a doença não impede relações de afeto, e outros remarcam como “novo” as manifestações clínicas da doença. Considerações Finais: o discurso normativo-curativista produzido nas campanhas não é suficiente para enfrentar estigma relacionado à doença. Para a hanseníase ser compreendida como uma doença crônica comum, é necessário, antes, combater a “lepra social”: o estigma.