Persons living with AIDS in nurses' social representations: analysis of central, contranormative and attitudinal elements

• Published in: Revista latino-americana de enfermagem 2012-11, Vol.20 (6), p.1091-1099
• Main Authors: da Costa, Tadeu Lessa, de Oliveira, Denize Cristina, Formozo, Gláucia Alexandre, Gomes, Antonio Marcos Tosoli
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; por
• Subjects: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nurses - psychology; NURSING; Psychology, Social
• ISSN: 0104-1169; 1518-8345; 1518-8345; 0104-1169
• DOI: 10.1590/S0104-11692012000600011

to describe and analyze the centrality, the mute zone and the attitudes expressed in nurses' social representations of people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. the subjects were 30 nurses from a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro. The data was collected using a Likert scale. the data pointed to a process of representational change regarding Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, with the assumption of a more positive attitude regarding living with this health issue. The hypothesis of the existence of a mute zone in the representation, comprising elements with a contranormative character, was strengthened. the influence of the dynamics of social normativity on how the social representations studied are expressed may contribute to a better understanding of its structuring process. It also helps in the analysis of possible gaps among the nurses' discourses and practices in relation to Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.