Qualitative Analysis of a Teacher’s Reflections on Medical Students Using Public Narratives to Promote Health

Abstract

Chagas disease (CD) is an anthropozoonosis-type parasitic infection, currently endemic in 21 Latin American countries, with approximately 5.7 million individuals obtained with Trypanosoma cruzi in 2015 1 . It occurs regularly in rural and poor areas; however, internal migration from rural to urban areas, as well as international migration to non-endemic areas, have promoted its expansion and, in turn, jeopardized its relevance, becoming a focus of public health care globally 2 .

Caused by the protozoan parasite T. cruzi, it is mainly transmitted by triatomine insects, although it can be transmitted less frequently congenitally, through blood transfusions or transplants, among others 1 . From acute infection, generally asymptomatic, it passes to a chronic phase of indeterminate duration, which, if not treated, generates, in 30-40% of cases, systemic manifestations that include cardiomyopathies, megaviscera, and less frequently, polyneuropathies and cerebral infarcts. Secondary to these complications are the high economic costs for health systems. It is estimated that the annual global burden of the disease is 627 million dollars, in addition to being related to significant disability of affected individuals

Chagas disease (CD) is an anthropozoonosis-type parasitic infection, currently endemic in 21 Latin American countries, with approximately 5.7 million individuals obtained with Trypanosoma cruzi in 2015 1 . It occurs regularly in rural and poor areas; however, internal migration from rural to urban areas, as well as international migration to non-endemic areas, have promoted its expansion and, in turn, jeopardized its relevance, becoming a focus of public health care globally 2 .

Caused by the protozoan parasite T. cruzi, it is mainly transmitted by triatomine insects, although it can be transmitted less frequently congenitally, through blood transfusions or transplants, among others 1 . From acute infection, generally asymptomatic, it passes to a chronic phase of indeterminate duration, which, if not treated, generates, in 30-40% of cases, systemic manifestations that include cardiomyopathies, megaviscera, and less frequently, polyneuropathies and cerebral infarcts. Secondary to these complications are the high economic costs for health systems. It is estimated that the annual global burden of the disease is 627 million dollars, in addition to being related to significant disability of affected individuals