Evaluation of the level of knowledge of the community about leprosy in a municipality in the interior of Northeastern Brazil

Resumo

Objective. this study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge about leprosy among the community in the municipality of Lago dos Rodrigues, located in the Central Mesoregion of Maranhão, in Northeastern Brazil. Methods: a questionnaire with eight multiple-choice questions was administered to 369 participants, and their sociodemographic data were also analyzed. Results: most interviewees lacked knowledge about the main characteristics of the disease. This was evident from the responses to questions addressing, for example, the agent responsible for causing leprosy (41.46% did not know the answer); the scientific name of the etiological agent (58.54% did not know the answer), and the signs and symptoms (58.80% did not know the answer). Conclusions: after conducting the study, it can be concluded that a lack of information about leprosy prevails among the residents of Lago dos Rodrigues, state of Maranhão. Therefore, it is necessary to implement educational initiatives in the community to increase awareness about this important infection, aiming to reduce the number of cases and complications related to leprosy in the population.