Sífilis na gestação: desafios para a assistência de enfermagem no prénatal em Grajaú - MA

Abstract

Syphilis is a curable sexually transmitted infection, as long as it is treated. It is a public health problem, with direct impact on pregnant women who, if not diagnosed and treated, can transmit the Treponema to the fetus through transplacental route. Primary care nurses must be able to prevent, diagnose, and treat pregnant women and their sexual partners, in order to prevent congenital syphilis. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the challenges faced by nurses regarding the care provided to pregnant women with syphilis during prenatal care in primary health care. This is an exploratorydescriptive research, which used field research, with a qualitative approach. The study participants were five nurses from health units in the urban area of a city in the state of Maranhão. Data collection took place in November 2022, through a semi-structured interview script, occurred individually in the interviewees' offices on previously scheduled days, and were recorded. Subsequently, the data were transcribed in full and submitted to a thematic analysis. The results obtained were presented in four categories, "Nurses' conduct during the first prenatal consultation and syphilis diagnosis", "Challenges for the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis", "Information passed on about syphilis during prenatal care", and "Strategies used by nurses for adherence to treatment of syphilis". It was possible to verify that nurses perform the prenatal consultation according to the protocols for syphilis detection and treatment. Pregnant women are oriented about the disease, prevention, and treatment scheme, as well as their partners, in order to avoid reinfection or vertical transmission. It was observed that the professionals encounter difficulties in the adherence of the pregnant woman to treatment, as well as the partner's resistance. It is concluded that the main challenges for nursing are a consequence of the need to capture pregnant women to follow up on treatment, as well as the difficulty in treating partners and avoiding vertical transmission. Given the importance of the subject, it is necessary to develop further research on this topic in the city