The Brazilian debate on humanization has stressed the relevance of a comprehensive approach to health. This approach requires that professionals revisit their attitudes and conceptions, straightly oriented in a biomedical sense. This reflexive essay examines a discussion process conducted by a multidisciplinary team of an HIV/Aids ambulatory in the city of São Paulo, with a view to the relationship between care and humanization of health practices. It was identified that the team considered that care provided by them was "humanized", once diverse patients needs, beyond those strictly related to the clinical control of HIV infection, were actively considered and responded to. Objections were made nonetheless, that those needs were not effectively incorporated into health care process, remaining just as obstacles to the adherence of patients to the therapeutic prescriptions, and informally responded to by means of staff personal initiatives and compassionate feelings. The discussion highlights the relevance of affectionate dimension in the encounters of health professional and services users, concluding by the importance of understanding humanization of health assistance as a dialogue process between technical aspects of health work and the users’ life projects.
Humanization of health assistance; Care; HIV/Aids; Compassion; Dialogue