This article studies the life experiences of people with leprosy and their intra-domiciliary families in Campinas, Brazil, based on an analysis of their representations concerning health, disease, and treatment. Taking their living and working conditions as the background, the study sheds light on the strategies that allow them to adapt to social and family life, to obtain a livelihood, and to establish familiarity with the disease process. The article focuses particularly on the way such individuals deal with the problems of regaining their health, in addition to evaluating governmental and nongovernmental health services.
Leprosy; Hansen's Disease; Representations; Disease