Mulheres que vivem com HIV atualmente: estigma e qualidade de vida

Abstract

The greater effectiveness and safety of antiretroviral drugs in recent years has provided a better quality of life for people living with HIV. Nonetheless, women living with HIV (WLHIV) suffer an internalized and experienced stigma (in society) due to the perception that people have of the virus since its discovery in the 1980s, which links it to sexual promiscuity, injecting drug use, homosexuality and poverty. In this work, we seek to verify and quantify stigma and its manifestations from a socio-historical perspective, using the HIV Stigma Scale (HSS) and the HIV/AIDS-Directed Quality of Life (HAT-QoL). Thirty WLHIV were interviewed, in person or virtually, through a semidirected script, which a stigma in almost half of the women and the great importance of the stigma experienced - which reflects the existing social prejudice in relation to WLHIV. In this sample, two clusters called “stagnant women” (10 women) and “fighting women” (20 women) were found. They differ mainly in relation to the coping strategy used after confirmation of the diagnosis. We recommend that WLHIV have specialized psychotherapeutic support, through which personal and social elements of stigma are discussed and deepened, and that health authorities and the media become more committed to informing the new and optimistic reality of people living with HIV