Envelhecimento e o HIV/AIDS: percepções e estigmas

Abstract

Introduction: All over the world, including Brazil, two phenomena are observed: the growth of the elderly population and the advance of HIV incidence in the age group above 60 years of age. In the country, population aging has gained prominence, with an expected increase of 15 times the number of elderly people between 1950 and 2025, when compared to the 1950s. Aids cases in this age group, over 60 years, have increased significantly. Even so, studies related to the perception of health professionals regarding the elderly are rare. Objective: This thesis had two main objectives: 1) to evaluate the different perceptions of health professionals from an HIV/AIDS referral center in relation to elderly people living with HIV; 2) to identify whether sociodemographic factors and the training of health professionals influence the perception of elderly people living with HIV. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study, carried out in the city of Uberlandia, MG, with the participation of professionals who worked at the Municipal STI/HIV/Aids Ambulatory “Herbert de Souza” and in Primary Care. Results: The results indicated that elderly people living with HIV are resistant to condoms, have little perception of the risk of the disease and that the request for an HIV test must be preceded by a broad clarification to the patient, demanding greater attention from professionals regarding the social/ psychological problems, aiming to improve the quality of care and adherence to treatment. In addition, scenarios such as age group, marital status, relationship status, sex, gender, sexual orientation, education level, skin color, religion and profession categories were related to the perception of elderly people living with HIV. Conclusion: Social stereotypes and prejudice are elements of the culture that contribute to the training process of health professionals, especially with the elderly population. In this way, the need for professional qualification of professionals who work with this population is highlighted, in order to improve the quality of care, eliminating social stigmas and possible prejudiced attitudes.