Nursing Care from the Perception of People with HIV/Aids

Abstract

Introduction: People with HIV/AIDS face the stigma of discrimination, suffering, guilt, fear and death. Therefore, they need the nursing personnel to provide humanized care; however, there are few qualitative studies in this regard.

Objective: To explore nursing care from the perception of people with HIV/AIDS.

Methods: A descriptive and qualitative research was conducted from October to December 2021. The population was 60 people with HIV/AIDS who attended the rehabilitation center for sexually transmitted diseases of Centro de Salud José Olaya, in Chiclayo, Peru. The sample was 12 people, chosen by convenience. The data were collected through a semistructured interview applied asynchronously through the Zoom platform and telephone calls, recorded with a voice recorder. The information was processed using thematic content analysis.

Results: Two categories were obtained: I) dimensions of human care: kindness, interest, communication, security, spirituality; II) indications of dehumanized care: indifference, insensitivity and discrimination.

Conclusions: Most people with HIV/AIDS perceive that, during nursing care, they are treated with kindness and affection, with signs of interest in their recovery, in which circumstances they feel comfortable and safe, as well as are explained procedures; in addition, they are given hope through faith. However, others perceive that they are treated with indifference and insensitivity, and even report an absence of cordial treatment and active listening; they categorize such care as apathetic and dehumanized.