Specialized nursing terminology in pre-exposure prophylaxis: alexical analysis

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the lexicon of terms related to nursing care directed at users of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV, based on the scientific literature. Method: A scoping review conducted according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Studies were identified in multidisciplinary and health-specific databases, national and international repositories of grey literature, and official documents from the Ministry of Health, with no restrictions on language or year. The studies were submitted to lexical analysis using the IRaMuTeQ software, and the findings were interpreted in light of Roy’s Adaptation Model, which guided the organization of lexical classes according to the physiological, self-concept, role function, and interdependence modes, enabling a multidimensional understanding of the phenomenon. Results: A total of 24,245 records were identified, of which 18 comprised the final corpus, totaling 1,770 text segments. Four lexical classes emerged: Implementation of HIV PrEP, Professional Care, Perception of Vulnerability, and Decision-Making. Conclusion: A representative vocabulary of nursing care in PrEP was evidenced, highlighting the contribution of Roy’s Theory to the interpretation of findings and to the integrated understanding of the dimensions of nursing care.