Percepção de vida dos idosos portadores do HIV/AIDS atendidos em centro de referência estadual

Abstract

This study analyzed the perceptions of elderly people with AIDS cared for in a state reference center of Maranhão. This descriptive, qualitative study was conducted among 46 patients with AIDS, interviewed from January to June 2010. It was revealed that the patients very rarely had any prior knowledge of the disease before being infected and there are several representations of AIDS, "someone else's disease" "incurable", "fatal", which can lead to death and prejudice. The positive diagnosis and living with AIDS bring a host of negative feelings to the individual carrier and their family, requiring them to rebuild their lives through a process of facing up to the reality.