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

Abstract

2This 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. Representaciones de profesionales de la atención primaria sobre riesgo ocupacional de infección por el virus HIV Se trata de un estudio cualitativo, fundamentado en la Teoría de las Representaciones Sociales, con profesionales que actúan en la atención primaria sobre el riesgo de infección por el HIV a que están expuestos en su trabajo cotidiano. Fueron entrevistados doce profesionales, médicos y enfermeras, que actuaban en dos Centros de Salud en el municipio de Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. El análisis terminó con la saturación de las informaciones, por el método propuesto por el Análisis Estructural de Narración. Los resultados revelaron que los profesionales de la salud entrevistados conocen el riesgo de infección en su trabajo cotidiano, representándolo como muy bajo en la atención básica, porque lo relacionan con una complejidad tecnológica, que consideran no existir en el nivel de asistencia en que actúan. Creen que el uso de equipamientos de protección individual puede minimizar los riesgos y que, hoy, ningún profesional de la atención básica deja de atender pacientes por miedo de infectarse, inclusive no utilizando todas las precauciones recomendadas. MethodThis was a qualitative study based on the theory of Social Representations (7) , using the method of Structural Analysis of Narrative to perform the interpretation of the interviews (8) .The study of representations allows the investigation of phenomena that often constitute major social problems, being used for their identification and interpretation, for understanding groups, cultures or societies that have appropriated them, in order to establish modes of conduct and give rise to interventions and evaluations (9) . Taking , and therefore also for the individual's practice (5) . Research subjectsProfessionals who worked in two health services Ethical considerationsThe study was approved by the Research Ethics Technique and Instrument for qualitative data collection and analysisThe open and in depth interview was used, seeking greater flexibility, richer informat...

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