This qualitative study is aimed at grasping the health workers' social representations about drug use from a gender perspective. Data were gathered from March to July 2004 in a health care unit specialized in assisting drug users in Salvador-Bahia, through participant observation; and semi-structured interviews with 19 health practitioners working in the unit. After thematic content analysis, two categories were identified: drug use as a way of facing life; the hidden female users. The context in which the health workers worked showed them different realities concerning female drug users, which were found to be in opposition to their representation of such population group. The context is therefore shown to be influential in the construction of social representations. If fair and humanized care is to be achieved, health professionals should get a broader gender approach and further studies like this one should include other practitioners.
Drug use; Women; Social representation; Gender identity; Health workers