Thesis and dissertations examining tuberculosis in Brazil between 2013 and 2019: an overview

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a serious public health problem, with approximately 10 million new cases reported annually. Knowledge about the quantitative evolution of theses and dissertations (T&Ds) examining human TB in Brazil can contribute to generating strategic planning for training professionals in this field and disease control. Therefore, this study highlights the role of T&Ds on TB in national scientific disclosures. Methods: An integrative review related to TB was performed, including T&Ds produced in Brazil and completed between 2013 and 2019. Results: A total of 559,457 T&Ds were produced, of which 1,342 were associated with TB, accounting for 0.24% of the total number of T&Ds in Brazil. This was evidenced by a predominance of themes such as attention/health care, epidemiology, and TB treatment, and 80.2% of the T&Ds on TB were related to the large areas of health and biological sciences. Only 19.7% of T&Ds were associated with groups of patients considered at risk for TB, and 50.9% were produced in southeastern Brazil. The 1,342 T&Ds on TB were developed in 416 postgraduate programs linked to 121 higher education institutions (HEIs). We highlight that 72.7% of T&Ds on TB were produced in federal HEIs, 27.4% in state HEIs, and 8.5% in private HEIs. Conclusions: Strategic themes, such as TB control, require public policies that aim to increase the number of doctors and masters with expertise in TB, with geographic uniformity, and in line with the priorities for disease control.