Impact on the social life of leprosy patients with leprosy reactions

The study aimed to understand the impacts on the social life of leprosy patients with leprosy reactions. This is a qualitative study, conducted at a university hospital located in a capital in northeast Brazil, in the period from December 2017 to January 2018, with five patients monitored in leprosy reaction. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview and subjected to content analysis. After analysis, four categories emerged: changes in the life of the person affected by leprosy with leprosy reaction; the stigma brought by it and its impacts on the routine of the bearer of the leprosy reaction; the family context in the patient’s life and the experiences of the person affected by leprosy in leprosy reaction in the work environment. Despite the information linked through health education works, there is still a strong social stigma tied to the disease, which generates significant negative impacts on daily life, isolating and socially excluding the patient, who becomes a prisoner of his/her illness.