Tecnologias em saúde e prevenção de incapacidades físicas por hanseníase: revisão integrativa

Abstract

Introduction: Leprosy is of significant public health concern as it is an infectious and chronic disease with the potential to cause physical disabilities. Aim: To identify health technologies in scientific literature for preventing physical disabilities caused by leprosy. Outlining: This is an integrative literature review, based on the research question: "What health technologies are applied to prevent physical disabilities caused by leprosy?" formulated using the PICo strategy, where "P" stands for Population (leprosy), "I" for phenomenon of Interest (technologies), and "Co" for Context of the study (prevention of physical disabilities). Results: Eleven articles published between 2001 and 2020 in Brazil were included. More than seventy technologies were identified for use in disability prevention. The primary types of health technologies for preventing physical disabilities include strategies and materials such as lectures, home visits, and establishing a strong relationship between healthcare professionals and patients. Final Considerations: It was possible to identify the importance of actions and reflection on the practice of health professionals with health technology to achieve new possibilities for the prevention of physical disabilities in leprosy, considering that it requires continuous and longitudinal care, comprising the most diverse aspects of the disease.