Objective: Investigate which knowledge emerges in the Tuberculosis Control Manuals and how power relations are established for treatment adherence.
Method: Documentary and qualitative research on five Manuals published between 2002 and 2019, available on the Ministry of Health's Website, based on Michel Foucault's theoretical and methodological framework.
Results: 1. Knowledge: emerges as human resource training; health surveillance actions; medicalization; and multifunctionality of nurses in addressing the social determinants of tuberculosis. 2. Power relations: occur through articulation between different subjects and establish disciplines on the body and the behavior of the person undergoing treatment.
Conclusions: Certain knowledge/powers constitute the actions of treatment adherence to tuberculosis treatment and normalize the "correct/true" way of conducting disease control. Such behaviors refer to self-responsibility, autonomy and empowerment of the subject and do not consider the countless conditions of vulnerability existing in the history of people with tuberculosis.