Gender perspective in leprosy programs: A critical literature review

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the gender perspective in articles on community participation programs carried out with people affected by leprosy. Methodology: A critical literature review was carried out with an ad-hoc guide based on three documents related to the analysis of the gender perspective in scientific publications. Different variables related to the theoretical framework, methodology, results and discussion were analyzed in addition to two transversal variables related to gender biases and the use of terms related to sex/gender. Results: Thirty articles related to community intervention programs and leprosy were analyzed, identified in a prior scoping review. The results showed that, in general, a gender perspective was not taken into account in the majority of the sections analyzed. Although there was a tendency to disaggregate data based on sex, subgroups of men and women were not analyzed, nor was there discussion of the differences between the two. In all of the articles, there was evidence of the presence of gender biases, and in the majority there was a proper use of the terms sex and gender. Conclusions: Results show that in the case of the studies we analyzed, a gender perspective was not taken into account in the approach to community intervention programs related to leprosy. It is necessary to develop strategies to incorporate a gender approach in research related to leprosy in order to address the gap in inequalities between men and women affected by the disease.