Narratives about risk and guilt among patients of a specialized HIV infection service: implications for care in sexual health

Authors

  • Cristiano Hamann Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
  • Adolfo Pizzinato Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
  • João Luís Almeida Weber Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
  • Kátia Bones Rocha Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-12902017170669

Keywords:

Counseling, HIV, Sexuality, SUS, HIV Rapid Test

Abstract

The objective of this study is to understand how perceptions about HIV and AIDS are articulated in narratives of male and female patients of the Public Health System, with qualitative elements that demonstrate the importance of sexual health counseling. Nine male and female patients of a specialized health service (CTA) were interviewed in Porto Alegre when they visited the CTA for the HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis B and C Rapid Test. The narratives generated two understanding axes: Risk/Promiscuity and Guilt/Accountability. These axes synthesized some of the innumerable possibilities of meaning in relation to the need to perform the HIV test. The elements promiscuity, risk, guilt and accountability were composed of different social markers, involving social experiences that were articulated with the epidemiological biomedical discourse. In this context, counseling represents a powerful space to deconstruct essentialist meanings and stereotyped notions of risk. This study shows that the narratives reaffirm the understanding of sexuality as an individualized dimension, which indicates the need for health work proposals on singularity. Qualitative analyses focused on the patients’ experience are strategic measures in a project to promote sexual health as a collective process.

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Published

2017-09-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Narratives about risk and guilt among patients of a specialized HIV infection service: implications for care in sexual health. (2017). Saúde E Sociedade, 26(3), 651-663. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-12902017170669