A Importância da Assistência de Enfermagem ao Portador de Hanseníase na Atenção Básica

Introduction: Leprosy is one of the oldest infections in the world, caused by Mycobacterium leprae and is considered a major public health problem due to the large number of people affected and its high disabling rate. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive study, a bibliographic review on the importance of nursing care for people with leprosy in primary care, using the Virtual Health Library (VHL), Google Scholar and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO) databases), using the following descriptors: Leprosy. Nursing Assistance. Basic Health Care. Articles from the last 5 years (2019 to 2023) in Portuguese, English and Spanish were selected. Results: Within the scope of AB, the nurse is the most active professional in the individual's comprehensive care, attending their monthly appointments, supervising the use of medications and contributing to their integration into the community through rehabilitation. He stands out in promoting self-care, skin care and dressings, identifying variants and possible complications, in addition to being responsible for supervising nursing actions in the health service. Conclusion: All data analyzed infer that nurses' actions are essential in controlling and eliminating leprosy, achieving the objectives established by the Ministry of Health.