Vulnerability aspects that hinder tuberculosis healing according to the perspective of patients and healthcare managers

Introduction: Tuberculosis is a major public health condition worldwide. The partnership between Healthcare Services and the patient is the gold standard for a successful healing outcome and a reduction in the harm the disease causes to patients and society in general. Objective: To analyze the vulnerability aspects that make tuberculosis healing difficult according to the perspective of patients and public healthcare managers. Methods: This is a descriptive study conducted in the year 2013 in Cajazeiras, a town located in the state of Paraíba in the northeastern region of Brazil. The study population was composed of 4 healthcare managers and 29 patients with confirmed tuberculosis diagnosis. In order to gather the sample of tuberculosis patients, a search on the Information System on Diseases of Compulsory Declaration (SINAN, in the Portuguese abbreviation) was run. Results: All patients had fixed addresses. Among these individuals, a total of 12 were of the male sex, 13.6% were smokers, 77.3% were alcohol-free and 13.6% were frequent alcohol consumers. In addition to that, 72.7% of the patients received no public financial support of any sort. As to coping with the disease, 54.5% declared no difficulty at all, 22.7% found it very difficult, 18.2% reported it was somewhat difficult and 4.5% stated it was extremely difficult. Concerning family income, 68.0% lived on up to two minimum wages.