Banca de DEFESA: Silvia Furtado de Barros

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : Silvia Furtado de Barros
DATE: 13/12/2023
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: ICC Sul - Instituto de Psicologia - AT 46/8
TITLE:

BEING A WOMAN: IMPACT OF HIV INFECTION ON MENTAL HEALTH, PERCEPTION OF ILLNESS, STIGMA AND ADHERENCE TO ANTIRETROVIRAL TREATMENT

KEY WORDS:

HIV, Women, Treatment Adherence, Distress, Illness Perception, Stigma

PAGES: 123
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Psicologia
SUMMARY:

Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is considered a chronic condition, and with universal access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Brazil, the greatest threat to the health of people living with HIV (PLHIV) is the worsening of the disease and the development of viral resistance. Adherence is considered a decisive factor in therapeutic response and one of the main challenges in the care of PLHIV. In the case of women with HIV, adherence can be strongly hindered due to prejudice and silencing resulting from a society marked by sexism, which complicates the exercise of female autonomy over their own bodies and, consequently, their self-care regarding HIV. This dissertation consists of two studies, with the first being a systematic literature review aiming to analyze associations between stigma experienced by women and adherence to antiretroviral treatment through empirical articles peer-reviewed and published from 2018 to 2023, in the Scopus, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), and PsycInfo databases. A total of 179 articles were identified, of which 35 met the eligibility criteria. The results showed that HIV-related stigma has various impacts on the lives of seropositive women, affecting mental health, quality of life, and consequently, adherence to antiretroviral treatment. Counseling, health education practices, and the professional-patient bond are aspects that minimize the negative effects of stigma on treatment adherence. The second, the main study, aimed to identify predictors of adherence to antiretroviral treatment regarding mental health, illness perception, and stigma in women living with HIV in the Federal District. It is a cross-sectional, quantitative study with online data collection, involving 108 HIV-positive women receiving care in public health services in the Federal District. Sociodemographic and medical-clinical questionnaires were used, along with the Adherence to Antiretroviral Treatment Assessment Questionnaire (CEAT-VIH), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, and HIV-related Self-stigma Scale. The average age was 45 years, the majority self-identified as brown and black, with income below 2 minimum wages, in a relationship, and residing in the Federal District. A large proportion (83.3%) had undetectable viral load. After preliminary and bivariate analyses, adherence levels were significantly associated with the family income variable (U=1011.0; p=0.01). In Spearman correlation analysis, there were significant, negative, and weak correlations between adherence, distress, self-stigma, and illness perception. In multiple regression analysis (forward method), distress was the variable that most strongly impacted adherence levels, explaining 20.8% of the variance in adherence, followed by illness perception, which explained 4.9%. Family income and self-stigma variables did not enter the final model. In summary, the presence of distress and the threatening perception of seropositivity predict poorer adherence levels, according to the results of this study. The research contributed to understanding the challenges and barriers faced by women living with HIV and emphasized the urgency of developing psychological intervention strategies that consider gender specificities, mental health, and acceptance of the diagnosis.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - CAROLINE MOTA BRANCO SALLES - IESB
Presidente - 241748 - ELIANE MARIA FLEURY SEIDL
Interna - 1509363 - ELIZABETH QUEIROZ
Externa à Instituição - Graziela Sousa Nogueira - SESDF