Social representations about aids in people over 50, infected by HIV

Abstract

This study analyzes representations about AIDS in nine persons older than 50, infected by HIV. The analysis revealed representations: ‘AIDS is a constant death threat’. These were categorized and named by means of the interviewers’ statements: ‘No doctor thinks, at first, that we can have aids’; ‘AIDS isn’t cancer’; ‘to be old and have AIDS is to be discriminated twice’. The results show the importance of integral care delivery by health services to decrease the psychosocial suffering of these people.