TY - JOUR KW - leprosy KW - Household contacts KW - Prevention KW - Brazil AU - Temoteo R AU - Souza M AU - Farias M AU - Abreu L AU - Martins Netto E AB - Introduction: The household contacts of leprosy are means for the maintenance of the disease. Objective: To identify the reasons why household contacts have not sought the Family Health Unit (FHU) for the dermatoneurological exam, in the municipality of Cajazeiras (PB). Methods: Exploratory descriptive study with a qualitative approach, performed in three FHU of the mentioned municipality. Data were collected through interviews, by applying semi-structured script, during visits to 31 contactsof leprosy cases. The data were treated from Bardin´s contentanalysis. Results: The main reason for not performing the dermato-neurological examination was the absence of signs and symptoms of leprosy, and feelings such as fear of examination, distrust of service, among others. Conclusion: Household contacts have not sought the Family Health Unit (FHU) for the dermato-neurological exam for lack of informationprovided by health professionals who serve at the FHS. BT - Arquivos brasileiros de ciências da saúde IS - 3 J2 - Arg bras cienc saude LA - por N2 - Introduction: The household contacts of leprosy are means for the maintenance of the disease. Objective: To identify the reasons why household contacts have not sought the Family Health Unit (FHU) for the dermatoneurological exam, in the municipality of Cajazeiras (PB). Methods: Exploratory descriptive study with a qualitative approach, performed in three FHU of the mentioned municipality. Data were collected through interviews, by applying semi-structured script, during visits to 31 contactsof leprosy cases. The data were treated from Bardin´s contentanalysis. Results: The main reason for not performing the dermato-neurological examination was the absence of signs and symptoms of leprosy, and feelings such as fear of examination, distrust of service, among others. Conclusion: Household contacts have not sought the Family Health Unit (FHU) for the dermato-neurological exam for lack of informationprovided by health professionals who serve at the FHS. PY - 2013 T2 - Arquivos brasileiros de ciências da saúde TI - [Leprosy: evaluation in household contacts] TT - Hanseníase: avaliação em contatos intradomiciliares VL - 38 ER -