Strategies for the assessment of tuberculosis contacts: An integrative literature review

Abstract

Objective: to describe, based on a literature review, the strategies used to assess the contacts of tuberculosis patients. Methodology: This is an exploratory and qualitative study, based on an Integrative Literature Review (RIL), composed of 6 stages. Applying the appropriate filters, resulted in 540 articles, in which 14 were selected using the exclusion criteria properly, in which materials that portrayed and explored the evaluation of tuberculosis contacts, latent tuberculosis, as well as the challenges in implementation were prioritized. of actions for this disease. Results: categorized into the following topics: Knowledge of contacts about what the disease is, care and transmission; The importance of contact tracing and Role of health professionals on tuberculosis transmission. Conclusion: the importance of evaluating tuberculosis contacts with the objective of controlling the disease was highlighted. In this way, it is important to emphasize that the health professional has a huge responsibility towards this public, and to the community in general, and it is necessary to always be seeking new knowledge in order to improve their health practices and ensure that their professional attitudes towards contacts make it possible to optimize identification and investigation of TB contacts.