This study tried to know the social representation of Aids which is developed by the dental surgeons of the city of Natal, Brazil. The center of analysis comprises 100 dental surgeons, and is based on the theories of social representations. A questionnaire was applied with them, there were also semi-structured interviews and etnografhic feature observation technique was developed. The findings indicate that the dental surgeons were informed about the contamination modalities, as well as the means for risk prevention. In spite of this, knowledge was incomplete, fragmented and based on an old-fashioned and traditional view of biosafety, which hampers the development of strategies to overcome the traditional practices. A mix of fear, threats, ambivalences has been introjecting in the social representations of this phenomenon. This mechanism hinders the structuring of behaviors, as well as, real actions towards prevention. Thus, it is necessary to develop new estrategies that can give a new signification the phenomenon, and at the same time, take into account the whole set of mental elaborations, emotions, daily practical and explanatory theories which are introduced in the constitution of social representation, under study, and that acts concretely by influencing the choices and before the risk of Aids contamination and transmission.
Aids; Social Representations; Prevention
