Social representations of AIDS and their quotidian interfaces for people living with HIV

"Fear can hold you, hope can set you free". Analysis of Italian prisoner narrative experience of the COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE

This study aims to explore the psychological effects of lockdown during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living in an Italian prison. The suspension of family visits and most activities, along with the difficulties in applying social distancing to this vulnerable population was associated with increased psychological distress. Riots broke out over two days in more than 22 prisons across Italy at the beginning of March 2020, highlighting the negative psychological impact of the pandemic and the country's emergency policies.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

The research involves 17 men (Italians and foreigners) detained in a Lombardy prison from 1 March to 4 May 2020, corresponding to the lockdown phase in Italy. The qualitative content analysis (CA) of 27 posts, written by participants during that period and published on the blog "L'Oblò", were analysed. The analysis allowed the identification of topics and subtopics that are related to two major categories of content: cognitions and emotional connotations about the COVID-19 lockdown in prison.

FINDINGS

Analysis showed that blog post content was predominately negative in terms of emotional connotations. The most frequent coded negative emotional connotations were: missing, worry, psychological pain and fear, whilst the most frequent coded positive emotional connotations were: hope and gratitude for the support they received from prison workers. The rest of the blog content was coded as "cognitions". Cognitions were coded as descriptions of lockdown effect on detention; prison during the COVID-19 emergency; the pandemic situation in general; and comparison between inside and outside prison.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

The current study is original as it describes through blog CA the psychological condition of prisoners during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the most affected region in Italy.

COVID-19 and the social organization of knowledge in Wikipedia: a study of social representations

Purpose

The paper aims to present the development of conceptualization of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) based on associations with other articles on English edition of Wikipedia. The main goal of the paper is to study the social organization of knowledge about COVID-19 within the Wikipedia community of practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodological approach taken in this study was based on the application of Moscovici's theory of social representations to Wikipedia's knowledge organization system (KOS). Internal links in the Wikipedia article about COVID-19 were considered anchors in its social representations. Each link in the introductory part of the article was considered an indicator of the semantic relationship between COVID-19 and other concepts from Wikipedia's knowledge base. The subject of this study was links extracted from all revisions of the COVID-19 article between February and September 2020. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed on these conceptual structures using both synchronic and diachronic approaches.

Findings

It was found that the evolution of anchors in the Wikipedia article on COVID-19 was in line with the mechanism of symbolic coping related to infectious disease. It went through stages of divergence, convergence and normalization. It shows that this mechanism governs the social organization of knowledge related to COVID-19 on Wikipedia.

Originality/value

No studies have been devoted to the image of COVID-19 as presented by the evolution of links in Wikipedia and its implications for knowledge organization (KO).

Moral barriers to HIV prevention and care for gay and bisexual men: Challenges in times of conservatism in Brazil

This article examines narratives about promiscuity that are emphasized by some gay and bisexual men who are themselves living with HIV. We used semi-structured interviews to assess the processes, outcomes, and meanings of HIV diagnosis among 10 young gay and bisexual men aged between 18 and 30 years old. Interviews were conducted in health service settings for the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and AIDS in Salvador, Brazil. Based on a socioculturally oriented approach, the narratives suggest that discourse about promiscuity seems to persist, or is even strengthened, in order to explain HIV infection among young gays/bisexual men and to emphasize a more restrained sexual life following HIV diagnosis. Despite the biotechnologies and biomedical advances, some difficulties and tensions also persist in the daily life of young people living with HIV. Difficulties in starting new relationships, dilemmas around responsibility for infection/transmission, fear and guilt are elements that stand out in these narratives, demonstrating that HIV discourses and practices may produce greater stigma and discrimination in current times, individualizing and blaming certain people for the infection/transmission of the virus, and marginalizing practices that do not conform to hegemonic heteronormativity.

Reporting on the opioid crisis (2000-2018): role of The Globe and Mail, a Canadian English-language newspaper in influencing public opinion

BACKGROUND

We aim to describe the general characteristics of how the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reports on opioid-related news, the opioid crisis and its victims, and explore how Canadians' perceptions of the opioid crisis could have developed over time from this reporting. The Globe and Mail has the highest circulation among Canadian newspapers and is Canada's newspaper of record.

METHODS

Reviewers performed independent, blinded bibliometric searches of all The Globe and Mail articles archived in the Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly spanning an 18-year period (1 January 2000-1 June 2018) related to the keywords "opioids" or "drugs and opioids" and "opiates". Independently and in duplicate, reviewers manually extracted qualitative data from articles and identified emergent themes. Articles were screened independently by both reviewers based on the inclusion criteria. Conflicts were resolved by discussion and consensus. Social representation theory was used as a framework for describing how the opioid crisis is portrayed in Canada.

RESULTS

Our search yielded 650 relevant opioid articles. The number of articles peaked in 2009, 2012, and in 2016, coinciding with major developments in the epidemic. The language used in this discourse has evolved over the years and has slowly shifted towards less stigmatizing language. Content analysis of the articles revealed common social representations attributing responsibility to pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and foreign countries.

CONCLUSIONS

The Globe and Mail's coverage of the opioid crisis is focused on basic social representations and attributed responsibility for the crisis to a few collectives. A shift toward coverage of the root causes of the opioid epidemic could positively influence the general public's perception of the opioid crisis and promote deeper understanding of the issue. Journalists face several obstacles to achieve greater focus and framing of the opioid crisis; a closer working relationship between the media and the research community is needed.

Impacts of health of users with HIV/AIDS in a specialized service

OBJECTIVE

to understand the perception of users of a Specialized Care Service (SAE- Serviço de Assistência Especializada) in HIV/AIDS about their oral health.

METHOD

qualitative research that used the techniques of participant observation and focal group. For the analysis of the material produced, categories of analysis, construction of dialogical map and identification of linguistic repertoires were used.

RESULTS

impacts arising from oral health problems such as: inability to eat properly, feeling ashamed due to tooth loss, inability to perform physical exercises and, as the main barrier to access to dental treatment, fear of exposure to practices of discrimination and prejudice.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

we need the implementation of policies of Permanent Education to all professionals involved in the care for this population, to ensure users' rights, ensure qualified care, and create security and trust relationships with individuals living with HIV/AIDS, in access to services.

Time perspective and associated factors in Brazilians living with HIV

BACKGROUND

a person's time perspective can be an important variable for the understanding of behaviours that interfere with the quality of life of people living with HIV.

AIMS

to analyse the relationships between socio-demographic, clinical, and behavioural variables and the time perspective in Brazilians living with HIV.

METHODS

a cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 281 people living with HIV in Brazil. The time perspective was evaluated using the Zimbardo Temporal Perspective Inventory (ZTPI-25).

RESULTS

the main findings indicate that people living with HIV are more oriented towards a future and positive past perspective, and that socio-demographic, clinical, and behavioural factors may influence the different temporal perspective constructs in people living with HIV.

CONCLUSION

health professionals can use the results of the present study to support strategies that encourage individuals living with HIV to self-care and lead healthier lives.

Social representations of chronic pain in newspapers, online media, and film

Social representation theory provides a framework for studying how scientific knowledge affects common sense and communication through inquiries into everyday discourse. This qualitative study examined social representations of chronic pain from 4 sources: North American newspapers; "Chronic Illness Cat" memes from the social media web site, Pinterest; video blogs on YouTube; and from a 2014 film, Cake, and interviews and comments concerning it. Using thematic analysis, we first identified social representations found in our 4 sources and others found in 1 or 2 of them. Second, we analyzed the sources for their rhetorical intentions. Vlogs directly and memes indirectly were first-person accounts, self-authorizing statements of the truth of chronic pain, whereas newspaper articles and the film were third-person accounts of pain, the differences between these perspectives affecting what was said. We conclude that the medium shapes the message.

ADHERENCE TO TREATMENT OF YOUNG ADULTS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF COMPLEX THINKING

ABSTRACT Objetive: to understand the adherence to treatment of young adults with HIV/AIDS treated in a specialized care service from the perspective of complex thinking. Method: a qualitative study, with the data grounded theory approach. Twelve young adults aged from 15 to 24 years old living with HIV/AIDS, nine health professionals and four mothers participated in the study. Data was obtained from interviews conducted between April and September 2016 and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results: the adherence to treatment of young adults with HIV/AIDS has been understood as a dynamic, multifactorial and constantly changing phenomenon. This process involves multiple aspects, including fear of becoming ill, physical and social death, discrimination and stigma. It was found that even in the face of these difficulties, young adults decide to continue their treatment in search of normalization of health, a long and common life like other young people who do not live with HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: it was considered that in view of the complex and changing phenomenon, adherence to treatment of young adults with HIV/AIDS should be understood and managed by health professionals.

TRANSEXUAL “WOMANHOOD” AND THE EMERGENCE OF TRANSFEMINISM: RHETORICS OF HIV/AIDS IN THE LIGHT OF THE QUEER THEORY

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the female transsexual identity and the emergence of transfeminism through the context of vulnerability to HIV / AIDS in light of the Queer Theory. Method: a qualitative, descriptive, exploratory study based on the Queer Theory, carried out in a reference hospital for HIV/AIDS in the State of Pernambuco (Brazil), developed with six young transsexual women. The interviews were analyzed in the IRaMuTeQ software via the similarity analysis method. Results: the relation of male domination through the subordination of the transsexual woman, which originates in the binary, sexist and male chauvinistic heteronormative model, is emphasized. The context of vulnerability to HIV / AIDS is evidenced as a naturalized phenomenon of violence to the young "queer" woman, especially with precarious living conditions, history of family rejection, sexual violence and informal prostitution work. Lack of support from the social network and the imminent risk of transphobic violence result in damage to their physical and mental integrity. The following categories were observed: Emergence of transfeminism through symbolic violence and female transsexual identity and the context of vulnerability. Conclusion: the social impacts of the minimal state policy, social class cohesion (binarism, sexism, racism and male chauvinism), unequal social capital and culture of abjection of transsexual women reflect the context of the HIV / AIDS epidemic and inequalities that result in individual, contextual and programmatic vulnerability and in factors which limit the attainment of a healthy life.

Meanings of HIV/AIDS prevention and sexuality for young Catholics

OBJECTIVE To analyze the the social representations of young Catholics about HIV/AIDS prevention and sexuality. METHOD Mixed study, based on the theory of social representations, held in 2015 with 84 young Catholics participating in the group "World Youth Day" on Facebook. The data were collected through the technique of free association of words and in-depth interview. For the information analysis, the software Tri-Deux-Mots and Alceste were used. RESULTS Sexuality is processed in the representational field of young people as being associated with the sexual practice. In turn, the prevention of HIV, a phenomenon represented as intrinsic to sexuality, occurs through the use of condoms or fidelity within marriage. CONCLUSION Young Catholics represent the prevention of HIV/AIDS as a transverse phenomenon to sexuality, whose sexual practices are anchored both in hegemonic and progressive discourses.

Beliefs of older adults about their vulnerability to HIV/Aids, for the construction of nursing diagnoses

OBJECTIVE

to know the beliefs of older adults about their vulnerability to HIV/Aids, and to identify nursing diagnoses.

METHOD

a field research implemented in Family Health Units, in João Pessoa, Brazil. The sample included 250 older adults of both genders with data collected from April to July of 2011. A Test of Free Word Association was applied using the term HIV/Aids. A content analysis and cross-mapping of the most frequent terms with the International Classification for Nursing Practice, 2011 were performed.

RESULTS

202 terms were identified in terms, with an overall frequency of 1156. Of the 202 terms, 16 were more frequent and were used to construct the nursing diagnoses. The diagnoses identified were knowledge about appropriate sexual behavior, ability for partial protection, fear of death and hopelessness.

CONCLUSION

understanding these beliefs drew from knowledge about factors related to, vulnerability to HIV/Aids aimed at planning health care actions for this population segment.

Sero-discovering versus sero-cognisant: initial challenges and needs of HIV-serodiscordant couples in Porto Alegre, Brazil

This paper focuses on challenges faced by heterosexual couples of mixed HIV status in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and argues for more conceptual nuance in our understanding of 'serodiscordance'. Couples' stories, collected over 11 months of qualitative research, demonstrate how profoundly serodiscordance involves both partners and suggest that the timing of relationship formation relative to HIV diagnosis influenced the particular challenges they confronted. In recognition of this variation, we propose the distinction of 'sero-discovering' from 'sero-cognisant' couples. Though Brazilian health policy strives to address the needs of individuals diagnosed with HIV, the needs of seronegative partners in this cohort received relatively little attention. In addition, the transformation of HIV from a death sentence to a chronic condition both facilitated the formation of serodiscordant unions and raised special challenges for such couples. Conceiving of any person receiving an HIV diagnosis as 'potentially partnered' may help address some of these lacunae while promoting primary prevention within mixed-status couples, and HIV testing more generally. More research with this population is needed.

Potentialities and weaknesses in the care network of people with HIV/AIDS

OBJECTIVE

to understand the strengths and weaknesses in the care network of people with HIV/AIDS in a referral center in the state of Santa Catarina-SC.

METHOD

participants were eight subjects and their care network, totaling 18 participants. Data were collected through interviews and examined by content analysis, theoretically supported by symbolic interaction.

RESULTS

the analysis resulted in the following categories: The network offering care to people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and Facing Barriers in care, which reflect the strengths and weaknesses in the care network. The fi rst depicts the provision of emotional and humanized care, and the second a restricted network formed by health professionals and a family member.

CONCLUSION

the professional care network is important, despite the increased number of assistances in a physical structure and amount of professionals who no longer meet the growing demand.

AIDS and jail: social representations of women in freedom deprivation situations

OBJECTIVE

To graspthe AIDS social representations built by freedom-deprived women.

METHOD

Descriptive study with a quali-quantitative approach that involved 174 convicted women in a women's prison in a capital city of the Brazilian northeastern region. Aword-association test was applied in October and November 2014, using AIDS as a stimulus. The corpuswas processed usingIramuteq software. Descending Hierarchical Classification and Correspondence Factor Analysis were applied.

RESULTS

The content that comprises the social representation of AIDS was influenced by the prison context, which was pervaded by a lack of assistance, lack of knowledge, discrimination, and suffering that disclosed vulnerability to HIV/AIDS factors such as unprotected sex and object sharing. This underlines the stigma and fear of the illness, in addition to favoring and supporting negative feelings and a sense of rejection.

CONCLUSION

To consider the use of this representational amalgam to ensure a comprehensive, contextualized care can help redirect practices, motivate self-care practices, and reduce prejudiced attitudes.

OBJETIVO

Apreenderas representações sociais sobre a aids construídas por mulheres privadas de liberdade.

MÉTODO

Estudo descritivo, com abordagem quali-quantitativa que envolveu 174 apenadas de Presídio Feminino situado em capital do nordeste brasileiro. Aplicou-se o Teste de Associação Livre de Palavras, em outubro e novembro de 2014, utilizando-se do estímulo aids. O corpus foi processado pelo software Iramuteq, sendo efetuadas a Classificação Hierárquica Descendente e Análise Fatorial de Correspondência.

RESULTADOS

Os conteúdos que compõem a representação social sobre aids são influenciados pelo contexto prisional, permeado dedesassistência, desconhecimento, discriminação e condições de sofrimento, revelando fatores de vulnerabilidade ao HIV/Aids como atividade sexual desprotegida e compartilhamento de objetos; reiterando o estigma e o temor à doença; e favorecendo e sustentando sentimentos negativos e de rejeição.

CONCLUSÃO:

Considerar este amálgama representacional na garantia de um cuidado integral e contextualizado pode contribuir para redirecionar práticas, motivar condutas de autocuidado e reduzir atitudes preconceituosas.

Quality of life and people living with AIDS: relationship with sociodemographic and health aspects

OBJECTIVE

to analyze the relationship of sociodemographic and health dimensions with the quality of life of people living with the human immunodeficiency virus.

METHOD

descriptive and quantitative study. The subjects were 131 seropositive people treated in a specialized center of the Norte-Fluminense municipality, Brazil. A form with sociodemographic and health data was applied, as well as the World Health Organization instrument for the assessment of the quality of life of people with the human immunodeficiency virus.

RESULTS

the statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in the assessment of the various dimensions of quality of life by the subjects for gender, education, employment, personal income, medical condition, self-perception of sickness, history of hospitalizations, and bodily alterations due to the antiretroviral drugs.

CONCLUSION

professional nursing and health care, as well as public policies in the area, should valorize the quality of life approach, considering the conditions related to its configuration.

AIDS as social construction: text mining of AIDS-related information in the Italian press

Given the relevance of AIDS as a public health problem in the Italian context and of the role of mass media in the social construction of the phenomenon, the aim of the present study is twofold: (1) to explore the main AIDS-related themes in the Italian popular press; (2) to analyse the temporal trends of AIDS representations over the last decades. For the research, we decided to consult Italian newspaper articles produced between 1985 and 1990 and between 2005 and 2010 using the archives of the main two national newspapers (La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera), resulting in an overall sample of 446 newspaper articles. A computer-aided content analysis allowed the detection of five different thematic domains (clusters), respectively focused on: Medical care (7.47%), Family support (37.03%), Science and religion debate (27%), Social exclusion (17.6%) and Healthcare policies (10.9%). These thematic domains are conceived along two main latent dimensions (factors) which explain 72.47% of the data variance which respectively deal with: (1) Attitudes towards people with AIDS (care versus avoidance) and (2) Social mandate on AIDS (powerlessness versus control). The study results also reveal the potential evolution of representations of people with AIDS over time: from stigmatised subjects who represent a risk for the entire society within a climate of social control to people progressively symbolised as frail subjects that need to be taken care of.

[Quality of life and AIDS from the perspective of persons living with HIV: a preliminary contribution by the structural approach to social representations]

This descriptive qualitative study had the following objectives: identify the content and structure of social representations of quality of life and AIDS for persons living with the disease and analyze the structural relations between such representations. The sample included 103 persons with HIV in a municipality (county) in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The methodology used free and hierarchical recall of words for the inductive terms "AIDS" and "quality of life for persons with AIDS", with analysis by the EVOC software. The probable core representation of AIDS was identified as: prejudice, treatment, family, and medications, with the same components identified for quality of life, plus healthy diet and work. We thus elaborated the hypothesis of joint, coordinated representational interaction, fitting the representations together, with implications for the symbolic grasp and quality of life for persons living with HIV. The findings provide backing for collective and individual health approaches to improve quality of life in this group.

Quality of life, socioeconomic profile, knowledge and attitude toward sexuality from the perspectives of individuals living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus

OBJECTIVES

to analyze the quality of life of "patients" with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and relate it to their socioeconomic profile, knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality.

METHOD

crosssectional and analytical study with 201 individuals who are 50 years old or older. The Targeted Quality of Life and Aging Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scales were applied during interviews. Multiple Linear Regression was used in data analysis.

RESULTS

dimensions of quality of life more strongly compromised were disclosure worries (39.0), sexual function (45.9), and financial worries (55.6). Scores concerning knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality were 31.7 and 14.8, respectively. There was significant correlation between attitudes and the domains of overall function, health worries, medication worries, and HIV mastery.

CONCLUSION

guidance concerning how the disease is transmitted, treated and how it progresses, in addition to providing social and psychological support, could minimize the negative effects of the disease on the quality of life of patients living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Perspectives of linkage to care among people diagnosed with HIV

Timely linkage to HIV care and treatment has led to improved individual and population benefits; however, 25%-31% of people diagnosed with HIV do not engage in care. Most linkage to care research has focused on larger metropolitan areas, but smaller metropolitan and rural areas encounter unique challenges to linkage to care. Our purpose was to examine factors influencing the decision to seek care by 27 people infected with HIV living in smaller metropolitan and rural areas of Florida. We used grounded theory methods to develop a theoretical model describing the decision-making process and participant recommendations within the context of stigma. Participants described support, defining care, activating care, conflicting messages of care, and pivotal events influencing the care decision. Findings highlight the complexities of HIV care and suggest a client-centered approach to address the multifaceted social and structural challenges people with HIV face in the journey from infection to care.

Persons living with AIDS in nurses' social representations: analysis of central, contranormative and attitudinal elements

OBJECTIVES

to describe and analyze the centrality, the mute zone and the attitudes expressed in nurses' social representations of people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

METHOD

the subjects were 30 nurses from a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro. The data was collected using a Likert scale.

RESULTS

the data pointed to a process of representational change regarding Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, with the assumption of a more positive attitude regarding living with this health issue. The hypothesis of the existence of a mute zone in the representation, comprising elements with a contranormative character, was strengthened.

CONCLUSION

the influence of the dynamics of social normativity on how the social representations studied are expressed may contribute to a better understanding of its structuring process. It also helps in the analysis of possible gaps among the nurses' discourses and practices in relation to Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

Construction and transformation of social representations of AIDS and implications for health care

OBJECTIVES: to analyze the process of the constitution and evolution of social representations and practices referent to aids, based on studies carried out in the last eleven years among health professionals. METHOD: a comparison of representational structures of aids in different decades was undertaken, accompanied by a study of the silent zone, involving health professionals. Data collection and analysis included techniques of free association, structural analysis, and study of the silent zone. RESULTS: the existence of a process of change was observed in the social representations of aids, with the introduction of the possibility of co-existence with the disease and the reduction of the importance of death. CONCLUSIONS: this process is presented as the result of a complex movement of symbolic constructions arising from human interactions, contributing to knowledge of ways of thinking associated with the syndrome and to professional practices in healthcare.

Administração de medicamentos para crianças nascidas expostas ao vírus da imunodeficiência humana

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a capacidade de mães com HIV/Aids de administrar a zidovudina e a profilaxia com sulfametoxazol-trimetoprima aos filhos nascidos expostos ao HIV. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal e quantitativo, realizado em hospital de referência no atendimento a casos de HIV/Aids em Fortaleza (CE), Brasil. Utilizou-se a Escala de Avaliação da Capacidade para Cuidar de Crianças Expostas ao HIV, que foi respondida por 60 mães. RESULTADOS: O nível de capacidade de administrar a zidovudina variou de moderado a alto, sem diferenças significantes em relação às variáveis maternas (p>0,05). Em relação à administração do sulfametoxazol-trimetoprima, o nível de capacidade variou entre baixo, moderado e alto. A variável materna "paridade" apresentou relação com o nível de cuidado alto (p=0,051). CONCLUSÃO: O nível de capacidade das mães para administrar o AZT xarope (Fator I) variou de moderado a alto e para administrar e SMZ-TMP (Fator IV), o nível de capacidade de administração distribuiu-se sem diferença entre baixo, moderado e alto.

Knowledge and attitudes about sexuality in the elderly with HIV/AIDS

OBJECTIVES: Assess the knowledge and attitudes about sexuality in the elderly with HIV/AIDS served in a specialized ambulatory clinic; and identify the epidemiological profile of these patients. METHODS: Cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study with a sample of 148 people aged 50 years and over. The Aging Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scale was used to assess the knowledge and the attitudes about sexuality of the elderly. RESULTS: The study included 148 elderly, male gender (63.5%), single (30.5%), retired and pensioners (53%), low socioeconomic class (60%), only 21% have completed the Secondary Education, monthly family income 3.3 minimum wages, time since diagnosis 156 months and predominant form of infection via sexual (66.2%). ASKAS knowledge score was 32.2 and attitudes score was 15.5. There was significant association between the knowledge ASKAS with the female gender, being a widow and more than one comorbidity; and between the attitudes ASKAS with complete Secondary Education and physical activity. CONCLUSION: Patients with HIV/AIDS showed favorable knowledge and attitudes about sexuality in the elderly, and women that were housewives showed significant knowledge.