Entre liberdade individual e saúde coletiva: saberes e práticas em caso de descontinuidade do tratamento da tuberculose
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Tuberculosis remains a significant cause of human suffering and death in the twenty-first century and represents a relevant public health problem. The article analyzes how the conflict between individual freedom and public health is related to tuberculosis treatment and how they are perceived and managed by the professionals and contacts involved in the process. This is qualitative research, in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with contacts of tuberculosis patients, as well as health professionals from the Epidemiological Surveillance and Family Health Strategy, involved in Tuberculosis Control in the city of Araçuaí, MG.The data analysis verifies the tension between individual freedom and public health, showing that the discontinuity of treatment is related to two political senses of freedom. While in the negative sense the person is considered free when no person or group interferes with his actions, in the positive sense freedom is understood as the self-determination of the individual. Therefore, considering the risks that freedom in the decision not to adhere to treatment (positive sense) may bring to the community, the conception of negative freedom applied by the Brazilian health system is based on interference, requiring conduct and strategies in these cases.
Language: Portuguese
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3005738890