Emotions, beliefs and attitudes of healthcare workers towards homeless who use drugs in Medellín, Colombia

Abstract

Objective: To identify some aspects related to the stigma of healthcare workers towards the homeless who consume psychoactive substances. Methodology: To achieve this objective, a qualitative study with a hermeneutic approach and descriptive scope was carried out, through the categorical analysis of transcriptions of recorded speeches from two focus groups comprised of 32 participants, members of the System of Attention to the Homeless Adult in Medellín, Colombia. Systematization and analysis encoding were performed in an Excel ® file, highlighting the presence of categories: "emotions", "beliefs" and "attitudes". Results: Ambivalent contents of the stigma towards this population are frequent in participant's speeches. On the one hand, the frustration about healthcare work, as the main emotion that coincides with the beliefs of distrust and evasive attitudes towards the homeless. On the other hand, the feelings of gratification for the work done and the presence of more protective and forbearing attitudes, but that do not alienate from the moralistic ideal of zero consumption. Conclusion: Recognizing and openly discussing stigma could guide more humanized ways of working with this type of population, as it is showed that the healthcare role does not exempt them from prejudice, stereotype and discrimination.