ABSTRACT
Objective:
to analyze the social representations of the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Method:
a descriptive, exploratory study with a qualitative approach, based on the Theory of Social Representations, using the structural approach. It was carried out in three Specialized Care Services for HIV/AIDS, with 180 people living with HIV/AIDS in therapeutic follow-up in these services. In the data collection, questionnaires with socioeconomic variables and the technique of Word Free Evocations were applied to the term inducer “quality of life”, in order to obtain the representation contents. The analysis of the data from the evocation was performed through the technique of the four-house table, being instrumentalized by the software called Ensemble de Programmes Permettant L’analysedes Evocations, version 2005.
Results:
in the analysis of the representation structure of the “quality of life”, the positive elements identified in the possible central nucleus were good food, health care and health, which suggest that the quality of life of the participants is associated with an adequate diet, which is inserted in the context of health care, evidencing the group’s concern with their own health.
Conclusion:
health is a priceless asset for the group studied. The social representations of quality of life are based on the adoption of health care related to self-care and, in particular, to health promotion actions.
DESCRIPTORS:
Quality of life; HIV; Aids; Health promotion; Health care