Abstract
Objective
to analyze tuberculosis control in a prison system of a Brazilian state.
Method
this was a sequential explanatory mixed study. In phase I, a quantitative retrospective description was conducted of recorded tuberculosis cases among prisoners in the state of São Paulo from 2010-2016, which were analyzed using simple frequencies with IBM SPSS 20.0 software and time-trend with Stata software/SE 14.0 via Prais-Winsten regression. Phase II was qualitative and was based on interviews with six key informants (health professionals working at a prison). Data analysis took place according to the procedures set forth in constructivist grounded theory.
Results
of 16,640 cases of tuberculosis, 95.8% were pulmonary, outpatient care accounted for the diagnosis in 51.4% of cases, and tuberculosis cure was the most frequent treatment outcome. “Doing your job well” emerged as the central category, while the subcategories: “discovering the disease” and “getting involved in treatment” described the strategies and actions developed by the professionals to diagnose and treat sick prisoners.
Conclusions and implications for practice
the results indicate the significant presence of tuberculosis in penitentiaries and the need to better coordinate the actions of security teams with health staff to develop adequate strategies that allow for early diagnosis and proper treatment.
Keywords:
Tuberculosis; Prisons; Prisoners; Diagnosis; Directly Observed Therapy
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Source: Prepared by the authors.