Tuberculosis control from the perspective of health professionals working in street clinics

PURPOSE: to present the opinion of professionals about street dwellers undergoing treatment of tuberculosis and identify strategies of control of tuberculosis in this population. METHOD: an exploratory and descriptive study involving 17 health professionals working in street clinics. A semi-structured study composed of closed questions and a guiding question. The statements were analyzed using the discourse analysis technique, resulting in the identification of two analytical categories: 1. Meanings attributed to street dwellers with tuberculosis, and 2. Control of tuberculosis in homeless people. RESULTS: the analysis identified situations that limited adherence to tuberculosis treatment, including the reasons for staying in the streets, living conditions, and risk factors (dependence on alcohol and other drugs, short-sightedness, constant relocations, and lack of perspectives). Street dwellers were knowledgeable about the disease. Furthermore, there were difficulties in solving several problems of people living in the streets, including living conditions and lifestyle, social stigma, relocations, drug abuse, and lack of life project. CONCLUSION: coping with the complexity of situations related to living in the streets limits to the work of health professionals because these situations go beyond health care and require intersectoral actions.