Social representations of antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV

Objective:  analyzing the social representation of antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV.  Method:  a qualitative study using the Theory of Social Representations. Data collection included 50 participants, being performed from February to September 2020 using a sociodemographic characterization questionnaire and a form for free evocations. The study scenario was an HIV treatment unit in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. Data analysis was performed by the EVOC software.  Results:  the central nucleus of the representation of antiretroviral therapy reinforces HIV control and the image of the drug as something good.  Conclusion:  the representational structure suggests that the group tends to normalize antiretroviral therapy, referring to a drug that controls HIV. The study made it possible to recognize the different representational contents of antiretroviral therapy for the studied group, in addition to the varied complexity among the images identified.