The scope of this study is to ascertain how the health professionals of a Reference Hospital for Infectious diseases experienced the AIDS epidemic while caring for people with the disease between 1986 and 2006. It involved a qualitative study with a socio-historical approach that used oral history to collect data from twenty-three health professionals. The following categories emerged from the content analysis: a change in profile of the AIDS epidemic; the improvement of care for people with HIV/AIDS; and an improvement in working conditions. The health professionals who experienced the epidemic while caring for patients with the disease perceived how much public health policies on AIDS, with advances and research, led to the consolidation of many laws. It also led to the coordination of health programs aimed at the improvement of services, assistance to people with the disease and ensuring a safer and less tiring work environment.
Public health policies; Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; Health care; Health professionals; Occupational health