Leprosy is an infectious disease that has an impact from a physical, social and psychological standpoint. The scope of this study was to assess the self-perception on oral health and need for treatment in leprosy patients in the city of Fortaleza, State of Ceará, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study, where 100 leprosy patients were given a semi-structured questionnaire to fill out. The results of the bivariate analysis between need for treatment and socio-economic characteristics showed that only education revealed a statistical association (p=0.000). An association was verified between the classification of oral health and self-perception of need for treatment (p=0.05). With respect to the self-perception of oral health, 36% of the researched subjects classified their oral health as good. The self-perception of leprosy patients regarding their oral health and need for treatment, together with a clinical evaluation, should serve as a guide for the drafting of public policies that aim to foment more effective dental treatment for these patients.
BT - Ciencia & saude coletiva C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23546208?dopt=Abstract CN - ALMEIDA 2013 DA - 2013 Mar DO - 10.1590/s1413-81232013000300027 IS - 3 J2 - Cien Saude Colet LA - por N2 -Leprosy is an infectious disease that has an impact from a physical, social and psychological standpoint. The scope of this study was to assess the self-perception on oral health and need for treatment in leprosy patients in the city of Fortaleza, State of Ceará, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study, where 100 leprosy patients were given a semi-structured questionnaire to fill out. The results of the bivariate analysis between need for treatment and socio-economic characteristics showed that only education revealed a statistical association (p=0.000). An association was verified between the classification of oral health and self-perception of need for treatment (p=0.05). With respect to the self-perception of oral health, 36% of the researched subjects classified their oral health as good. The self-perception of leprosy patients regarding their oral health and need for treatment, together with a clinical evaluation, should serve as a guide for the drafting of public policies that aim to foment more effective dental treatment for these patients.
PY - 2013 SP - 817 EP - 26 T2 - Ciencia & saude coletiva TI - [Self-perception of people afflicted with leprosy regarding their oral health and the need for treatment]. TT - Autopercepção de pessoas acometidas pela hanseníase sobre sua saúde bucal e necessidade de tratamento UR - http://www.scielo.br/pdf/csc/v18n3/27.pdf VL - 18 SN - 1678-4561 ER -