Evaluation of incapacity level in leprosy: a strategy to sensitize and train the nursing team.

The main problems caused by leprosy are physical incapacities. This study evaluated the level of patients' incapacity in treatment and in discharge in 11 municipal districts of the 14th Regional of Health of Paraná, at the same time it promoted discussion and qualified nursing professionals of local teams. It was verified that 79.8% of the population evaluated presented some degree of incapacity and that some of the professionals ignored the evaluation technique. The percentage of patients with incapacity levels I and II was high, fact that corroborates the late diagnosis of cases. The need of a permanent self-care process associated to polichemotherapy and continuous evaluation of new and old cases in order to avoid the illness physical incapacities is highlighted.