Percepções e significados do diagnóstico e convívio com o HIV/aids

It is about a descriptive qualitative study, with the objective of knowing the perceptions and meanings which the patients give to the diagnosis and life with HIV/AIDS. Thirteen patients were interviewed that are ambulatory service users in STD/AIDS in the city of Florianopolis. The data was analyzed by the analysis method of content, resulting into the following categories: The AIDS diagnosis on the public and living with AIDS: New concepts regarding the disease, The results showed, after analyzed, that the HIV diagnosis causes sadness, fear and the death sentence feeling. The fear to reveal your condition to the family and friends is mostly caused by society’s prejudice, which is a result that HIV is connected with stereotypes. The maintenance of health and physical integrity allows it to realize that AIDS is not a deadly disease, and that indeed it’s possible to live well.