Objective: To analyze the influence of social incentives for adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment. Method: Qualitative study, in which 26 primary health care professionals of São Paulo were interviewed in 2015.Their testimonies were submitted to the speech analysis technique. The theoretical reference was the social determination of the health-disease process. Ethical procedures were observed. Results: TB is related to precarious living conditions. Incentives such as the basic food basket and transportation stipends are relevant for patients’ adherence to treatment, as well as to the create bonds between the patient and the health team. Final considerations: The incentives strengthened adherence to TB treatment. However, interventions in the context of public measures must transcend the remedial dimension and be guided towards the transformation of the TB situation, which means supporting processes that modify living conditions.

Objective: To identify representations regarding adherence to the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis from the perspective of patients who were discharged upon being cured. Method: A qualitative study with patients who completed the drug treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in São Paulo. Social Determination was used to interpret the health-disease process, and the testimonies were analyzed according to dialectical hermeneutics and the discourse analysis technique. Results: Twenty-one patients were interviewed. The majority (80.9%) were men, in the productive age group (90.4%) and on sick leave or unemployed (57.2%) during the treatment. Based on the testimonies, three categories associated with adherence to treatment emerged: the desire to live, support for the development of treatment and care provided by the health services. Conclusion: For the study sample, adherence to the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis was related to having a life project and support from the family and health professionals. Free treatment is fundamental for adherence, given the fragilities arising from the social insertion of people affected by the disease. Therefore, special attention is required from the health services to understand patient needs.

Examination of IgE serum levels in 37 patients with psoriasis showed statistically significant values higher than normal when the extent of skin involved was more than 50%.

Objective: To analyze aspects related to the experience of tuberculosis from the perspective of men and women with tuberculosis. Method: Qualiquantitative cross-sectional study. Patients with tuberculosis in the city of Campina Grande-PB were interviewed through a semi-structured questionnaire between September/2017 and January/2018. Discourse Analysis and Chi-Square test were performed. Results: Sixty-three subjects were interviewed, of which 34 (54.0%) were men. There was an association of the category gender with level of education (p = 0.004), work activity (p = 0.023), time spent on activities outside the home (p = 0.013), and time spent on activities at home (p = 0.001). The analysis of the statements specially revealed that men perceive their role as the family’s main provider and the women with a social role of caregiver, often postponing the search for a health care due to fear of not being able to perform this role in the family and/or in society. Conclusion: The weakness caused by the disease and the long duration of treatment changed the interviewees’ routine, causing suffering and frustration, with consequences in the performance of social roles within the family and in society, constituting a barrier to adherence to tuberculosis treatment.

Aos meus pais, Silmara e Aymar, que sempre me incentivaram a alcançar meus sonhos e objetivos. Sei que essa conquista não é só minha, mas de vocês também. AGRADECIMENTO ESPECIAL À querida professora Maria Rita Bertolozzi, que foi muito mais do que a minha orientadora nesse estudo. Modelo de docente, de pesquisadora e de pessoa. Obrigada por aceitar me orientar desde o Mestrado e por continuar essa jornada comigo no Doutorado. Sempre terei em minha memória todos os seus ensinamentos, competência, força, postura ética, total disponibilidade e carinho. Tive o prazer de poder acompanhá-la em estágios do curso de Graduação em Enfermagem, de vê-la brilhar na sala de aula e de dizer que você sempre foi muito presente em todo o período de orientação. Tenho gratidão pelas inúmeras e profundas leituras dessa tese, contribuindo para seu adensamento, sempre me fazendo questionar e a procurar a melhor versão do meu trabalho. Agradeço por sempre me apoiar e ter fornecido ajuda fundamental para a realização do meu Doutorado Sanduíche na University of Toronto, se mantendo sempre de prontidão durante esse período. Tenho o orgulho de dizer que fui sua aluna de Mestrado e de Doutorado e agradeço por todo apoio e confiança ao longo desses anos.