Social representations of Hansen’s disease: a psychosocial study with residents of an old hospital colony

This study aimed to identify and analyze the social representations of Hansen’s disease among the residents of a colony hospital. Data obtained showed that the social representations of the disease presented antagonistic ideas, since, although they are anchored mainly in contents related to leprosy, they also evidenced elements based on scientific knowledge that represent Hansen’s disease as any other curable disease.

Keywords:
Hansen’s disease; colony hospital; social representations