Contributions of the concept of vulnerability to studies on HIV/AIDS and women: a scoping review of the national literature (Brazil)

Abstract

Background:

Being introduced in the interpretations on the perspectives of the expansion of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1990s, the concept of vulnerability seeks to articulate the individual dimension of vulnerability to HIV to social and programmatic contexts, often marked by inequality and social injustice.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to analyze the uses of the multifactorial conception (individual, social, programmatic) of vulnerability in studies on women and HIV/AIDS, from 1990 to 2018, published in SciELO.

Methods:

From the scoping review of the national literature, 39 selected studies were classified as to the use of the concept of vulnerability in consistent, partial, or inconsistent use.

Results:

The main aspects associated with women's vulnerability to AIDS were difficulty in negotiating condom use, social and symbolic dimension of marriage and motherhood, differentiated meanings of sexuality between genders, and fragility of sexual and reproductive rights. We observed gaps regarding the articulation of the three components of the concept and a scarcity of evaluations of interventions guided by the referential of vulnerability.

Conclusion:

The findings indicate the potential contribution of the concept in the analysis of the syndemic between HIV, social, racial, gender inequalities, and other health problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords:
HIV; acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; health vulnerability; women