title: [Assessment of a leprosy control program in a hyperendemic county in the State of Maranhão, Brazil, 1991-1995].
abstract: This is a descriptive study to assess the leprosy control program in the municipality of Buriticupu in Maranhão State, Brazil. The records of 214 patients with different forms of leprosy were studied. Patients were treated at a health center of the Federal University in Maranhão located in the above-mentioned municipality. The study population was comprised of 110 cases with paucibacillary leprosy (PB) and 104 with multibacillary leprosy (MB). The patients were registered between January 1991 and December 1995. Data on the form of the disease, number of contacts registered, examined, and assessed, degree of disability at the beginning and end of treatment, and the register's status were collected on a form designed specifically for this purpose. Analysis of results was based on operational guidelines developed by the Ministry of Health. There was a slight predominance of the PB form. Observation of patients with physical disabilities at the beginning and end of treatment was low, as were levels of successful treatment and examined contacts. There was a high dropout level. The program was considered "low-level performance" for all indicators used in the study.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís, MA, 65020-660, Brasil.
authors.forename: Dorlene Maria Cardoso
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: de Aquino
authors.forename: João Souza
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Jackson Maurício Lopes
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011787:Quality of Health Care
vernacular_title: Avaliação do programa de controle da hanseníase em um município hiperendêmico do Estado do Maranhão, Brasil, 1991-1995.