Representations of Primary Care Professionals about the Occupational Risk of HIV Infection

Authors

  • Marina Celly Martins Ribeiro de Souza Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Escola de Enfermagem
  • Maria Imaculada de Fátima Freitas Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Escola de Enfermagem

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692010000400013

Keywords:

Professional Practice, Medical Assistance, Nursing Care, Primary Health Care, AIDS Serodiagnosis

Abstract

This was a qualitative study, based on the Social Representations Theory, with professionals that work in primary care, about the risk of HIV infection to which they are exposed in their quotidian work routine. Twelve physicians and nurses who work in two Health Centers in the city of Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, were interviewed. The final analysis, carried out using the saturation of information criterion, was based on the method proposed by Structural Analysis of Narrative. The results show that the health professionals interviewed knew the infection risk in their work routine, representing it as very low in primary care, because they relate it to technological complexity which they consider does not exist in the level of assistance in which they work. They believed that the use of personal protection equipment may minimize the risks and that, nowadays, no primary care professional refuses to attend a patient due to fear of infection, even if not using all the recommended precautions.

Downloads

Downloads

Published

2010-08-01

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 4 (2010)

Section

Original Articles

License

RLAE’s authorship concept is based on the substantial contribution by each of the individuals listed as authors, mainly in terms of conceiving and planning the research project, collecting or analyzing and interpreting data, writing and critical review. Indication of authors’ names under the article title is limited to six. If more, authors are listed on the online submission form under Acknowledgements. The possibility of including more than six authors will only be examined on multicenter studies, considering the explanations presented by the authors.
Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Representations of Primary Care Professionals about the Occupational Risk of HIV Infection . (2010). Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 18(4), 748-754. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692010000400013