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.