Body-map storytelling: case study on the living and care of women with HIV

Abstract

The objective of the study was to understand the living and health care of women living with HIV/AIDS,  identifying potentialities and challenges,  understanding the effects on living with HIV/AIDS in  the daily lives of these women and the relationships  with the health care network in Porto Alegre. The municipality has HIV/AIDS detection rates six times  higher than the national rates and in 2019 reached 17.6 cases/1,000 live births. A descriptive exploratory  study was carried out, of the case study type, and the production of data used the construction of a  narrated body map. Four women with a confirmed  diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, linked to to a primary health  care in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul,  participated. Body maps and narratives made it  possible to discover a universe populated by stigma,  prejudice, fears, and insecurities. The production of  health care for women living with HIV/Aids requires  the participation of different fields of knowledge, a  wide and planned performance of professionals, and,  therefore, the construction of care itineraries that  meet the demands of these people in a humanized  and welcoming way, as well as through public policies that strengthen the health care network to face  stigma and prejudice.