Saberes e práticas sobre dengue na atenção primária em saúde: um estudo qualitativo

Abstract

Dengue virus challenges public health in Brazil and more and more Brazilians are being affected. It is present in all states of the country with an intense spread of its vector, Aedes aegypti. This study aimed to identify, describe and analyze knowledge and practices about dengue and its control on different social actors which take part in Health Primary Attention (APS): health community agents (ACS), endemic fighter agents (ACE) and population added to (ESF) family health strategy. Therefore, a descriptive exploratory nature rese arch was carried out in a qualitative approach. In this line, we searched for identifying that problem situation through social representations. The ESF (family health strategy) which presented the highest incidence of dengue was chosen in the city of Lavras/MG and the surroundings in 2019, in order to favor areas where the people are being affected by the disease. An open interview applied to a focal group (GF) was defined as a method for collecting data, in addition to visits to the places mentioned in the interviews as the mosquito focus in the neighborhood and the city legislation analysis to cross information. The theoretical Bardin and Minayo made reference to the data analysis process. Therefore, a collection of data was carried out in three ESF and was enough to saturate it with ideas. The results point out that knowledge and preventive practices on dengue are more connected to responsibility factors from public sectors than to the individual itself. The knowledge dissemination about breeders of A. aegypti and general internal care for the control are efficient and always mentioned with contents quite consolidated and diffuse. Nevertheless, basic questions on hygiene, external or even internal home citizenship are still unknown by the population in general and better understood by experts. There is difference between experts’ and the people’s knowledge as a whole. However, it is noticed a general cultural trait in holding others responsible for the problem causes and the necessity of using fines as a way to hold those who do not play the role responsible for the disease or the vector control. The results indicated that measures improvement of vector control becomes necessary for the disease control efficiency from investments in both programs of urban infrastructure improvement and actions of education and information on health that should go beyond the resident behavior and the external or internal home control of the vector -city actions which are able to avoid Aedes focus in public or private areas and hold favorable factors responsible for spreading them.