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

This 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.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Souza,Marina Celly Martins Ribeiro de, Freitas,Maria Imaculada de Fátima
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto / Universidade de São Paulo 2010
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-11692010000400013
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!