Tuberculosis from the perspective of men and women (*)

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.