Communication of PrEP and PEP in Brazil: investigating the meanings of communication pieces and analysis of the conceptions of government agents

This study analyzes the conceptions and communication practices of government agents on HIV prevention and their symbolic and programmatic implications based on the criticism regarding the end of the paradigm of exceptionality in AIDS responses in Brazil. This reflection is part of broader research with users, professionals and managers of five municipal HIV/AIDS programs carried out in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and run by the Federal Government. Based on contributions of the social sciences to the understanding of social representations and practices in health, the investigation involved an analysis of interviews with managers (federal and local) and health professionals about the communication strategies of combined prevention (CP), HIV pre-exposure (PrEP) and post-exposure (PEP) prophylaxis and an analysis of 24 pieces of communication on CP, PrEP and PEP. Government agents reported strategies for disseminating PrEP and PEP to health professionals via consultation material and workshops, considering the turnover of this group and moral and ethical-political resistance. However, the public disclosure of prophylaxis is discreet or carried out digitally. The exploration of the meanings of the communication pieces indicates an emphasis on the clinical dimension of prophylaxis in government materials; in pieces created by nongovernmental organizations a greater contextualization of CP strategies for sexual scenes, practices, and identities was found. A shift from communication strategies to a grammar informed by the availability of biotechnologies and their dispersed enunciation was observed. The weakening of government communication in the era of CP compromises the effectiveness of the right to prevention.

Keywords:
Pre-exposure Prophylaxis; Post-exposure Prophylaxis; HIV; Communication; Symbolism