Hanseníase: representações sociais entre familiares de adolescentes com a doença

Abstract

Based on the Theory of Social Representations, this study analyzed social representations of leprosy in families of adolescents with the disease. Data collection, by semi-structured interviews, involved 18 family members who lived in the patient’s home. The Alceste software was used to identify seven lexical classes. The results indicated representations coated with negatively valued elements that associated leprosy to a serious and dangerous disease, outlining a patient in suffering. The lack of data contributes to a symbolic construction of the disease underpinned by personal beliefs and hypotheses. Establishing dialogic encounters and expanding information may enable the construction of new meanings about becoming ill and illness.