The aim of this qualitative exploratory study using the Theory of Social Representations was to capture and discuss the social representations about Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Acquired Imunodeficiency Syndrome made by forty pregnant women who received prenatal care in the Satellite District of Teresina-PI, Brazil. The instrument used for data collection was the Test of Free Association of Words. The results were processed in the software Tri-Deux Mots and interpreted through correspondence factorial analysis. The results showed that the representational field of the subjects is constituted by the following evocations: itching, runniness, pain, insecurity, fear, prevention, danger, and condoms, anchored in the socio-cultural and psychological aspects. Thus, social representations have been expressed by women with the social, cultural, and psychological aspects on the prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
Sexually transmitted diseases; Pregnant women; Qualitative research; Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
