Adherence to anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is essential for therapeutic success of HIV infection. Due to the complexity of this theme we consider interesting to analyse it from social representation (SR) theory. Our goal in this study was to outline the processes that give birth to social representations (SR) of seropositivity on HIV/AIDS patients who may adhere or not to antiretroviral treatment (ART). An exploratory research using observation techniques and a structured interview with 16 men and 16 women who adhered and did not adhere to ART was made. The data was submitted to a categorial content analysis (Bardin). The results showed that adherent patients associate seropositivity to a new condition where medications appear to be included. The pills are objectified as destroying HIV virus and an anchorage on the scientific knowledge is identified. For non-adherents seropositivity is a menace. Denial does not allow an anchorage on scientific knowledge. ART is objectified as causing a disease. As a conclusion we can affirm that while to the adherent patients the SR of the disease and the ART appear as an articulated knowledge system, to the non-adherent the social representations are still being elaborated.
Social representations; HIV; Adherence; Seropositivity
