Abstract
To analyze the representations constructed by people living with HIV on the infection and their influence on the late search for diagnosis. A qualitative study, conducted through an open interview with people who had a late diagnosis of HIV infection. The theoretical framework adopted was the Theory of Social Representations based on a critical approach. For data analysis, was used the Structural Analysis of Narration method and the MAXQDA 12® software. Eighteen people participated in the study. The following original representations were unveiled: AIDS as a transmissible and dangerous disease; disease of the other; severe, incurable and deadly disease; and denial of risk due to trust in a steady partner. These representations contributed to the late search for diagnosis, either because of the attitude of distance from susceptible people, or because they did not perceive or deny the risks to which they were exposed in their life trajectories. Understanding the reasons that lead people to a late diagnosis of HIV is imperative in the current epidemic scenario for the planning and implementation of new strategies and policies for the timely diagnosis of the infection.
Highlights
HIV/AIDS has permeated the collective imagination from the first cases in the early 1980s
In the HIV diagnosis, is monitored the proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV) without treatment who arrive at the health service with immunological impairments that are measured by the value of CD4 T lymphocytes + (LT-CD4+)
The late diagnosis of HIV infection is one of the main obstacles for epidemic control and a multifaceted and complex problem. This phenomenon was analyzed based on the interpretation of representations about HIV constructed throughout the life trajectory of people diagnosed late
Summary
HIV/AIDS has permeated the collective imagination from the first cases in the early 1980s. Since it became a worldwide epidemic, people in their different sociocultural and life contexts construct their representations about the phenomenon and attribute meanings to this problem. Research in several countries around the world has highlighted the problem of late diagnosis (LD) of HIV infection with high prevalence rates This is one of the main obstacles to pandemic control and has serious repercussions for populations, highlighting the increase of infection spread, of morbidity and mortality of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and the decrease in the quality of life of those affected[1,2,3,4]. In 2015, in Brazil, 42% of PLHIV sought health services late, when they had already developed the syndrome, i.e., with a LT-CD4+ value of less than 350 cells/mm3(5)
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