O papel do estigma na qualidade de vida das pessoas vivendo com HIV : um estudo com usuários de um serviço de atenção especializada - SAE/CTA no sul de Minas Gerais

Abstract

The present research aimed to describe and analyze how stigma and discrimination affect the quality of life of people living with HIV undergoing treatment. It was a quantitative and qualitative study, with a methodological design conducted in two stages. The first stage involved 50 adult users of the Specialized Care Service SAE/CTA in a municipality in the South of Minas Gerais, individually subjected to a Sociodemographic Questionnaire and the WHOQOL HIV - bref Quality of Life Scale. In the second stage, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 3 participants who obtained the lowest results and 3 with the highest results in terms of quality of life, aiming to analyze their perception of stigma. The data obtained in the first stage were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics, and in the second stage, the analysis was qualitative, based on Bardin's content analysis methodology (1988/2012) of the reported contents. The results were integrated into a conclusive synthesis to address the proposed objective. Regarding the results, it was possible to observe that among the four highest results on the WHOQOL HIV bref, participants with much higher than average income were included, demonstrating that income factors interfere with the quality of life of the researched population. Based on the data obtained in the research, four categories were identified: Category A: Believes they have not experienced stigma because, out of fear of experiencing it, they chose not to disclose their HIV status to others. Category B: No longer engaged in sexual relationships after diagnosis. Category C: Did not expect the diagnosis because they did not believe they were vulnerable to the virus due to lack of risk behaviors. Category D: Associated the diagnosis with a death sentence. The analysis showed that anticipated stigma was primarily responsible for affecting the quality of life of this population, and that social markers such as gender, race, and socioeconomic class should be considered in the pursuit of promoting full access to health and equity for the relief of psychological suffering in this population. Thus, the results can enhance the understanding of health and contribute to the implementation of inclusive public policies aimed at the quality of life, promotion, recovery, and health prevention of people living with HIV, as it can directly impact the prevention of new infections.