Beliefs and practices of the nursing team related to pressure injury preventive measures: A analysis of social representations.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To analyse the process of elaborating social representations about pressure injury preventive measures by the nursing team (nurses and nurse technicians) and how this process relates to preventive practices for hospitalized patients. DESIGN: Qualitative study, with the application of the theory of social representations in its procedural methodological approach. METHODS: The study was carried out in an inpatient clinic of a public hospital in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. Totally, 28 nursing professionals in the medical clinic sectors who had worked directly with patient care for more than 6 months participated. The data were collected between July and September 2021 via in-depth interviews with the application of a semi-structured instrument. Analysis was carried out with the help of ALCESTE software, which performed a lexicographic analysis, and also via thematic analysis. The COREQ guided the presentation of the research report. RESULTS: The social representations were developed based on the professionals' symbolic beliefs about the visibility/invisibility of the results of applying preventive care. These symbolic constructions mobilized positive and negative feelings among the nursing team, which guided the classification of prevention practices as being of greater or lesser priority among other care activities. There were favourable attitudes among professionals, which included applying prevention measures in their daily routines, and unfavourable attitudes of non-adherence to the institution's protocol for preventing pressure injuries. CONCLUSIONS: The nursing team's perception of pressure injury prevention is influenced by symbolic, affective, values, and social dimensions. Non-adherence behaviours are attributed to the belief in the invisibility of prevention outcomes, resulting in a reluctance to implement preventive measures. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Understanding the subjective logic that explains the thinking and actions of the nursing team suggests the need to incorporate discussions on beliefs, values, sentiments, and attitudes of nursing professionals into educational programs on pressure injury prevention. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No public contribution.

Enhancing citizenship through nursing care in Brazil: Patients' struggle against austerity policies.

Interpersonal relations play a critical role in both the conception and dynamics of Brazilian citizenship. Under the influence of neoliberalism, patients must build strategies to access high-quality health care services. This study aimed to analyze the role of interpersonal relations involved in the access to and delivery of health care services in Brazil amid the influence of austerity policies and the role of nurses in enhancing citizenship through nursing care. Thirty-one patients in a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, participated in qualitative interviews. A lexical analysis was conducted to analyze the interview data using Alceste® software, version 2012. The results were interpreted in light of both theoretical constructs of the Brazilian citizenship and biological subcitizenship propositions. Two lexical classes revealed contents about strategies used by patients to access high-quality health care. In the context of budget cuts due to austerity policies, cultural aspects of Brazilian citizenship have influenced access to high-quality health care services by creating two distinct conditions. Some patients acted as super-citizens, while others acted as subcitizens. Nurses across the globe must spearhead the struggle for universal and equitable health care access at all levels, without losing sight of wider sociocultural aspects.

Slips, lapses and mistakes inthe use of equipment by nurses in an intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE: Toidentify the occurrence of errors in the use of equipment by nurses working in intensive careandanalyzing them in the framework of James Reason's theory of human error. METHOD: Qualitative field study in the intensive care unit of a federal hospital in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Observation and interviews were conductedwith eight nurses, from March to December 2014. Content analysis was used for the interviews, as well as the description of the scenes observed. RESULTS: Lapses of memory and attention were identified in the handling of infusion pumps, as well as planning failures during the programming of monitors. CONCLUSION: Errors cause adverse events that compromise patient safety. The authors propose creation of an instrument for daily checking of equipment, with checks throughout the work process in the programming of infusion pumps and monitors, in order to reduce failures and memory lapses. OBJETIVO: Identificar a ocorrência de erros na utilização de equipamentos por enfermeiros que atuam na terapia intensiva, analisando-os à luz da teoria do erro humano de James Reason. MÉTODO: Pesquisa de campo, qualitativa, na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva de um hospital federal do Rio de Janeiro. Realizou-se observação e entrevista com oito enfermeiros, de março a dezembro de 2014. Aplicou-se análise de conteúdo nas entrevistas e descrição densa nas cenas observadas. RESULTADOS: Identificaram-se falhas de memória e de atenção no manuseio das bombas infusoras e falhas de planejamento durante a programação dos monitores. CONCLUSÃO: Os erros causam eventos adversos que comprometem a segurança do paciente. Propõe-se um instrumento de verificação diária dos equipamentos, com checagens ao longo do processo de trabalho da programação das bombas infusoras e monitores, no intuito de reduzir as falhas e esquecimentos.

The (in)visibility of fibromyalgia through its symptoms and the challenges of its diagnosis and therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the social representations of fibromyalgia based on its symptoms and their influences on diagnosis and therapy. METHODS: Qualitative research with the application of the Theory of Social Representations and snowball sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 adults diagnosed with fibromyalgia in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between April 2020 and January 2021. Statistical and lexicographical analysis was performed using Alceste software. RESULTS: Pain, as a subjective phenomenon, complicates its legitimacy, diagnosis, and therapy, enhancing suffering. Insufficient information generates judgments, stereotypes, and prejudices. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: Stigmas, prejudices, the variety and invisibility of symptoms make it difficult to objectify the disease within the Cartesian-biomedical frameworks, generating diagnostic pilgrimage, mistakes, and challenges in treatment. Such representations hinder relationships and the management of the disease. Deconstructing them is a way to better care for those with fibromyalgia. Raising awareness and spreading qualified information are important allies.

Knowledge and strategies for coping with fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the knowledge about fibromyalgia of people with this diagnosis and its repercussions in coping with the disease. METHOD: Qualitative research, based on the Social Representation Theory framework. Thirty people over 18 years old and from the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, participated. Snowball sampling was applied to recruit participants and a semi-structured interview was used to produce data, between April 2020 and January 2021. Statistical and lexicographic analysis was performed using Alceste. RESULTS: Most participants were women (93%); aged 41 to 60 years old (67%); of whom 63% were married; had been diagnosed 10 years ago or more (40%); and 40% participated in support groups. They did not know the name of the disease and its causes, but they mentioned its symptoms, mainly pain. Objectification of fibromyalgia occurs in painful symptoms and the lack of signs in the body generates misunderstanding among the people they live with. They share experiences in support groups to cope with the disease. CONCLUSION: The subjective phenomenon of pain generates distrust about the disease. Diagnosis difficulties delay treatment and insufficient information generates judgments and stereotypes for patients. Prejudices and rejections have repercussions on coping with the disease.

[Male vulnerabilities and stereotypes in the social representations of prostate cancer]. / Vulnerabilidades e estereótipos masculinos nas representações sociais das causas do adoecimento por câncer de próstata.

In society, cancer is commonly associated with an incurable and disabling disease that causes damage beyond the biological scope, impacting the psychological and sociocultural dimensions of cancer patients. From a cultural point of view, men construct narratives about prostate cancer based on their experiences and social contexts, expressing moral, ethical, and sociopolitical elements attributed to the cause of this type of cancer. We sought to understand the causes of prostate cancer as represented by men living with this type of cancer and its repercussions on self-care. A descriptive, qualitative study based on the Theory of Social Representations was conducted with 31 men diagnosed with prostate cancer treated at a High Complexity Oncology Unit. Data were collected from April to June 2022 by in-depth, individual, and semi-structured interviews. The corpus was inserted into the ALCESTE software. Alcohol intake, smoking, sexual promiscuity, and not taking care of oneself were the main behaviors understood as causes of cancer, which generates self-responsibility and guilt for the illness. Social representations of these causes, translated into behaviors not aligned with what social morality dictates as right, have repercussions on the moralizing notion of cancer as punishment, in which the disease expresses the patient's character, anchored in the Judeo-Christian religious discourse, which reduces the sociopolitical burden of male vulnerabilities and reinforces stereotypes from patriarchal society.

No universo consensual de pensamento, o câncer é associado à doença incurável e incapacitante, o que acarreta prejuízos que extrapolam o âmbito biológico e atinge dimensões psicoculturais e sociais de quem convive com a doença. Sob a ótica cultural, os homens constroem narrativas sobre o câncer de próstata com base nas suas experiências e contextos sociais, expressando elementos morais, éticos e sociopolíticos atribuídos à causa do adoecimento por esse tipo de câncer. O objetivo do estudo foi compreender as causas do adoecimento de câncer de próstata nas representações de homens acometidos desse tipo de câncer e suas repercussões no autocuidado. Realizou-se estudo descritivo, qualitativo, fundamentado na Teoria das Representações Sociais. Participaram 31 homens com diagnóstico de câncer de próstata matriculados em uma Unidade de Alta Complexidade em Oncologia. Os dados foram produzidos de abril a junho de 2022 por entrevista em profundidade, individual e semiestruturada. O corpus foi submetido ao software ALCESTE. A ingestão de bebida alcoólica, o tabagismo, a promiscuidade sexual e a ausência de autocuidado foram os principais comportamentos entendidos como causas do câncer, o que gera autorresponsabilização e culpa pelo adoecimento. Representações sociais das causas, traduzidas em comportamentos não alinhados ao que a moral social dita como certos, repercutem na noção moralizadora do câncer como um castigo, em que a doença expressa o caráter do paciente, ancorando-se no discurso religioso judaico-cristão, o que diminui a carga sociopolítica das vulnerabilidades masculinas e reforça estereótipos da sociedade patriarcal.

En el universo de pensamiento consensuado, el cáncer se asocia a una enfermedad incurable e incapacitante, que provoca pérdidas que van más allá del ámbito biológico y afectan las dimensiones psicoculturales y sociales de quienes viven con la enfermedad. Desde una perspectiva cultural, los hombres construyen narrativas sobre el cáncer de próstata con base en sus experiencias y contextos sociales, expresando elementos morales, éticos y sociopolíticos atribuidos a la enfermedad por este tipo de cáncer. El objetivo fue comprender las causas de la enfermedad de cáncer de próstata en las representaciones de los hombres afectados por ese tipo de cáncer y sus repercusiones en el autocuidado. Estudio descriptivo, cualitativo, basado en la Teoría de las Representaciones Sociales. Participaron 31 hombres diagnosticados con cáncer de próstata inscritos en una Unidad de Oncología de Alta Complejidad. Los datos se produjeron de abril a junio del 2022 mediante entrevistas en profundidad, individuales y semiestructuradas. El corpus fue sometido al software ALCESTE. Consumir alcohol, fumar, la promiscuidad sexual y no cuidarse fueron las principales conductas entendidas como causantes del cáncer, lo que genera autorresponsabilidad y culpa por la enfermedad. Las representaciones sociales de las causas, traducidas en comportamientos no alineados con lo que la moral social dicta como correctos, repercuten en la noción moralizante del cáncer como castigo, en que la enfermedad expresa el carácter del paciente, anclándose en el discurso religioso judeocristiano, lo que disminuye la carga sociopolítica de las vulnerabilidades masculinas y refuerza los estereotipos de la sociedad patriarcal.

[The practice of intensive care nursing: alliance among technique, technology and humanization]. / Clínica do cuidado de enfermagem na terapia intensiva: aliança entre técnica, tecnologia e humanização.

A qualitative, field research study whose aim was to characterize the specific practice of intensive care nursing. Observation and interviews were conducted with 21 nurses in an intensive care unit. The results evidenced eight characteristics of this care, which included subjectivity and objectivity, translated into: interaction, dialogue, humanistic principles, vigilance, knowledge, and mastery of machinery. Because of this practice, subjectivity is not always expressed in a clear way, and objectivity requires training of nurses to perform intensive care. It is concluded that the practice of intensive care nursing combines technique, technology and humanization, which underlie the nursing care performed at the unit.

Measures of Health Care Providers' Knowledge, Clinical Skills, or Prejudice Toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and Other Sexual and Gender Minority Populations: A Scoping Review.

Purpose: Assessing health care providers' knowledge, clinical skills, and prejudice toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexual and gender minority populations (LGBTQIA+) can help identify areas for improvement in health care provider training. The aim of this study was to map the range of studies that report measures of health care providers' knowledge, clinical skills, or prejudice toward LGBTQIA+ populations. Methods: A scoping review adopting the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology was conducted. Electronic database searches were conducted in CINAHL via EBSCO Host, Epistemonikos, LILACS via Virtual Health Library Regional Portal, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Sciences. The samples of other reviews were screened. Studies that validated, translated, and/or cross-culturally adapted measures of the knowledge, clinical skills, and prejudice of health care providers and students toward LGBTQIA+ individuals were selected. Scholars were consulted to ensure that no relevant studies were missing. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers and presented in tabular form along with narrative summaries. Results: This scoping review identified 27 measures that have been validated, translated, and/or adapted with health care providers or students as the target population, distributed across 33 studies. Conclusions: Psychometric studies involving LGBTQIA+ patients and health care professionals have increased in recent years, with North American countries being the most frequent location. However, a growing number of studies are being conducted in Latin American countries such as Brazil and Colombia.

Outline of a project for nursing health education on the Instagram social network.

OBJECTIVES: to characterize the outline of a project for health education and its contributions to the propagation of information on the Instagram social network. METHODS: exploratory and descriptive research on an Instagram profile called "@resenhadasaude";. Data collection: from July 23, 2020, to April 21, 2021. Interaction metrics were generated on 36 posts. Simple and percentage statistical analysis were applied. RESULTS: there are 1,016 followers in Brazil, with a 206.02% growth. The largest audience is teenagers, young people, and women, with a gender difference of 41.8%. The greatest interest was about covid-19, sexual health, and drugs. Followers' misconceptions reinforce the need for the dissemination of quality information. CONCLUSIONS: Instagram metrics point to the project's validation in terms of audience interest, mostly adolescents and youth. Instagram proved to be powerful for educational purposes and information dissemination, as well as an autonomous field for nursing.

[Technology in intensive care and its effects on nurses' actions]. / Tecnologia na terapia intensiva e suas influências nas ações do enfermeiro.

The objective of this study was to identify the social representations that nurses have about technology applied to intensive care, and relate them to their ways of acting while caring for patients. This qualitative study was performed using social representations as the theoretical-methodological framework. Interviews were performed with 24 nurses, in addition to systematic analysis and thematic content analysis. The results were organized into three categories about the lack of technological knowledge, approach strategies, mastering that knowledge and using it. The knowledge necessary to handle the technology, and the time of experience using that technology guide the nurses' social representations implying on their care attitudes. In conclusion, the staffing policy for an intensive care setting should consider the nurses' experiences and specialized education.

Nursing and society: Evolution of Nursing and of capitalism in the 200 years of Florence Nightingale.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the relationships between the development of the Nursing labor and of capitalism over the 200 years of Florence Nightingale. METHOD: a logical-reflective and theoretical exposition based on interpretations of historical facts and Marxist theories. The analysis categories were the following: the creation and expansion of the Nightingalean Nursing Teaching System; the subsumption of the Nursing labor to capital; imperialism and international health; and the flexibilization of the Nursing labor. RESULTS: the expansion of the Nightingale Teaching System has trained nurses on a global scale. The capitalist system transformed the Nursing labor in the twentieth century, culminating in the twenty-first century with precarious and intense turnover of nurses in their jobs. CONCLUSION: the Nursing labor, made professional by Nightingale, has assumed in the last 200 years a dialectical relationship with capitalism in which it both determines and is determined by it. New challenges, such as the Industry 4.0 technologies, are constantly imposed on the profession.

COVID-19 and the nursing labor market: lessons learned by analogies between historical events.

OBJECTIVES: to reflect on the impacts of Brazil's response to the COVID-19 pandemic demands on the nursing labor market in light of the recovery of experiences in the USA during the World War II. METHODS: this is a discursive formulation, which discusses the nursing labor market, establishing analogies between historical events. RESULTS: measures implemented in the World War II by the USA are similar to those that the Brazilian Federal Government has adopted, and, as in the USA, such measures strongly affected both professional training and the nursing labor market. In Brazil, the measures can also deepen problems in the national nursing labor market, reverberating in precariousness. CONCLUSIONS: a better way to meet the demand for nursing workers can be with the existing supply of trained and available workers.

Health care of deaf persons during coronavirus pandemics.

OBJECTIVE: To reflect about the barriers experienced by the deaf population during the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposals to overcome communication barriers in health care and the role of public policies in effecting the social inclusion of deaf people. METHODS: Reflection based on studies on health care for deaf people, the COVID-19 pandemic and public accessibility policies. RESULTS: The global crisis of COVID-19 has deepened pre-existing inequalities in the world, in addition to highlighting the vulnerability of people with disabilities, including deaf. Government, institutional and social initiatives to mitigate difficulties in communicating to deaf people have been made, but they are still insufficient to guarantee protection for them in this pandemic and full inclusion in health care. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: Social inclusion, supported by law, and the linguistic accessibility of deaf people still need to generate broad and concrete actions so that deaf people can enjoy their rights as citizens.

Social representations of patients with vasculogenic ulcers about quality of life: an analysis of the social context.

OBJECTIVE: to describe the social representations of patients with vasculogenic ulcers about quality of life and analyze such representations from the social context of patients' insertion in relation to the healthcare service. METHOD: a qualitative research, based on social representations, developed in a Family Clinic in Rio de Janeiro with 30 patients with vasculogenic ulcers for over 90 days. Data were produced through interviews and submitted to lexicographical analysis using the Alceste software. RESULTS: the weaknesses of care in the healthcare service to which patients were linked contributed to exacerbate the reconfiguration of daily life that the occurrence of ulcers implies, due to the presence of pain and physical restrictions, influencing the representation of quality of life. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: the representation was objectified as a counterpoint to the image of "being happy", and actions expressed proactivity in the search for a cure or passivity due to lack of clinical results.

The presence of anemia in patients with leg ulcer: laboratory test.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the presence of anemia in patients with chronic lower limb ulcers based on profile and hematometric indices. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro. The sample was composed of 64 participants with lower limb ulcers and evolution time greater than 12 weeks. Data was collected between May/2016 and December/2017 from hematological analyses, records from medical records, and wound assessment form. RESULTS: 36 (56.2%) were male; 38 (59.4%) between 60 and 80 years old; 56 (87.5%) with chronic diseases and 52 (81.2%) with venous ulcers. 6 years mean of active ulceration. Anemia was detected in 36 (56.2%), 27 (75%) of which were normochromic and normocytic; 14 (38.8%) had deficiency anemia recorded in their medical chart. CONCLUSION: The low hemoglobin concentration is recurrent among the participants characterizing an anemia condition, whose profile reveals congruence to the anemia of chronic disease.

Social representations of nursing students on the rights of health users.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the social representations of undergraduate nursing students in the third and eighth term of the course on the rights of health users. METHODS: Qualitative research using the framework of the structural approach to the Theory of Social Representations. A total of 92 students participated. The free evocation technique was used and data was processed in the EVOC software. RESULTS: In the social representations of the third term students, words related to health policies were not observed, but there is an evaluation of the service in the institutions. Among the eighth-grade students, the concepts that support the policies of the Unified Health System are evident. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: There is a consolidation of the students' knowledge throughout the course, with a more elaborated knowledge about the users' right, supported by principles of the SUS. Undergraduate education is an important space for discussing the construction and exercise of citizenship, including the right to health.

Behaviors related to Quilombola women's health: a social representations study.

OBJECTIVE: To Identify Quilombola women's social representations about health care and to characterize practices performed by them. METHOD: a descriptive, qualitative study, applying the Social Representations Theory, conducted with 30 women from a Quilombola community in the Brazilian Amazon. Individual interviews and thematic content analysis were carried out. RESULTS: Health care practices are related to the home, people, families, and environment, indicating a Quilombola women's extended understanding about health care. In the first instance, natural resources derived from traditional knowledge and use of herbs are applied, in the second instance, the official health system, with the mother-woman being the main caregiver of the family. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: the mother enables a health care in the family daily life, and she is the main way of access health professionals have to enter the Quilombola community and provide proper care from the official health system to the group.

The (in)visibility of fibromyalgia through its symptoms and the challenges of its diagnosis and therapy / La (in)visibilidad de la fibromialgia a través de sus síntomas y los desafíos de su diagnóstico y terapia / A (in)visibilidade da fibromialgia por seus sintomas e os desafios do seu diagnóstico e terapêutica

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the social representations of fibromyalgia based on its symptoms and their influences on diagnosis and therapy. Methods: Qualitative research with the application of the Theory of Social Representations and snowball sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 adults diagnosed with fibromyalgia in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between April 2020 and January 2021. Statistical and lexicographical analysis was performed using Alceste software. Results: Pain, as a subjective phenomenon, complicates its legitimacy, diagnosis, and therapy, enhancing suffering. Insufficient information generates judgments, stereotypes, and prejudices. Final Considerations: Stigmas, prejudices, the variety and invisibility of symptoms make it difficult to objectify the disease within the Cartesian-biomedical frameworks, generating diagnostic pilgrimage, mistakes, and challenges in treatment. Such representations hinder relationships and the management of the disease. Deconstructing them is a way to better care for those with fibromyalgia. Raising awareness and spreading qualified information are important allies.

RESUMEN Objetivo: Analizar las representaciones sociales de la fibromialgia basadas en sus síntomas y sus influencias en el diagnóstico y la terapia. Métodos: Investigación cualitativa con la aplicación de la Teoría de las Representaciones Sociales y método de muestreo en bola de nieve. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas con 30 personas adultas, diagnosticadas con fibromialgia, en la ciudad de Río de Janeiro, Brasil, entre abril de 2020 y enero de 2021. Se llevó a cabo un análisis estadístico y lexicográfico mediante el software Alceste. Resultados: El dolor, como fenómeno subjetivo, dificulta su legitimidad, el diagnóstico y la terapia, intensificando el sufrimiento. La información insuficiente genera juicios, estereotipos y prejuicios. Consideraciones finales: Los estigmas, prejuicios, la variedad y la invisibilidad sintomática dificultan la objetivación de la enfermedad en los modelos cartesianos-biomédicos, generando una peregrinación diagnóstica, errores y desafíos en el tratamiento. Tales representaciones obstaculizan las relaciones y el manejo de la enfermedad. Desconstruirlas es un camino para mejorar el cuidado de quienes tienen fibromialgia. Sensibilizar a las personas y difundir información cualificada son aliados importantes.

RESUMO Objetivo: Analisar as representações sociais da fibromialgia baseadas em seus sintomas e suas influências no diagnóstico e na terapêutica. Métodos: Pesquisa qualitativa com aplicação da Teoria das Representações Sociais e método de amostragem snowball. Realizaram-se entrevistas semiestruturadas com 30 pessoas adultas, diagnosticadas com fibromialgia, na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, entre abril de 2020 e janeiro de 2021. Foi realizada análise estatística e lexicográfica pelo software Alceste. Resultados: A dor, como fenômeno subjetivo, dificulta sua legitimidade, o diagnóstico e a terapêutica, potencializando o sofrimento. Informações insuficientes geram julgamentos, estereótipos e preconceitos. Considerações finais: Estigmas, preconceitos, a variedade e a invisibilidade sintomatológica dificultam a objetivação da doença nos moldes cartesianos-biomédicos, gerando peregrinação diagnóstica, equívocos e desafios no tratamento. Tais representações interditam as relações e o manejo da doença. Desconstruí-las é um caminho para melhor cuidar dos que têm fibromialgia. Sensibilizar as pessoas e difundir informações qualificadas são importantes aliados.

Knowledge and strategies for coping with fibromyalgia / Conocimiento y estrategias para el enfrentamiento a la fibromialgia / Saberes e estratégias no enfrentamento da fibromialgia

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the knowledge about fibromyalgia of people with this diagnosis and its repercussions in coping with the disease. Method: Qualitative research, based on the Social Representation Theory framework. Thirty people over 18 years old and from the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, participated. Snowball sampling was applied to recruit participants and a semi-structured interview was used to produce data, between April 2020 and January 2021. Statistical and lexicographic analysis was performed using Alceste. Results: Most participants were women (93%); aged 41 to 60 years old (67%); of whom 63% were married; had been diagnosed 10 years ago or more (40%); and 40% participated in support groups. They did not know the name of the disease and its causes, but they mentioned its symptoms, mainly pain. Objectification of fibromyalgia occurs in painful symptoms and the lack of signs in the body generates misunderstanding among the people they live with. They share experiences in support groups to cope with the disease. Conclusion: The subjective phenomenon of pain generates distrust about the disease. Diagnosis difficulties delay treatment and insufficient information generates judgments and stereotypes for patients. Prejudices and rejections have repercussions on coping with the disease.

RESUMEN Objetivo: Analizar el conocimiento sobre fibromialgia de personas con este diagnóstico y sus repercusiones en el afrontamiento de la enfermedad. Método: Investigación cualitativa, basada en el marco de la Teoría de la Representación Social. Participaron 30 personas mayores de 18 años, del estado de Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Se aplicó un muestreo de bola de nieve para reclutar participantes y se utilizó una entrevista semiestructurada para producir datos, entre abril de 2020 y enero de 2021. El análisis estadístico y lexicográfico fue realizado por Alceste. Resultados: La participación mayoritaria fue de mujeres (93%); de 41 a 60 años (67%); el 63% estaban casados; diagnosticado hace 10 años o más (40%); el 40% participó en grupos de apoyo. Desconocían el nombre de la enfermedad y sus causas, pero citaban sus síntomas, principalmente dolor. La objetivación de la fibromialgia se produce en los síntomas dolorosos y la falta de señales en el cuerpo genera incomprensión en las personas con las que se convive. Comparten experiencias en grupos de apoyo para afrontar la enfermedad. Conclusión: El fenómeno subjetivo del dolor genera desconfianza sobre la enfermedad. Las dificultades de diagnóstico retrasan el tratamiento y la información insuficiente genera prejuicios y estereotipos en los pacientes. Los daños y rechazos repercuten en el afrontamiento de la enfermedad.

RESUMO Objetivo: Analisar os saberes sobre a fibromialgia de pessoas com este diagnóstico e suas repercussões no enfrentamento da doença. Método: Pesquisa qualitativa amparada no referencial da Teoria das Representações Sociais. Participaram 30 pessoas acima de 18 anos, do estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Aplicou-se snowball sampling para recrutar os participantes e entrevista semiestruturada para produção de dados, entre abril de 2020 e janeiro de 2021. Realizou-se análise estatística e lexicográfica pelo Alceste. Resultados: A participação majoritária foi de mulheres (93%); idade de 41 a 60 anos (67%); 63% eram casados; com diagnóstico há 10 anos ou mais (40%); 40% participavam em grupos de apoio. Desconheciam o nome da enfermidade e suas causas, mas citaram os seus sintomas, majoritariamente a dor. A objetivação da fibromialgia ocorre nos sintomas dolorosos, por sua vez, a falta de sinais no corpo gera incompreensão nas pessoas com as quais se convive. Compartilham experiências em grupos de apoio para enfrentar a doença. Conclusão: O fenômeno subjetivo da dor gera desconfiança quanto à enfermidade. As dificuldades do diagnóstico retardam o tratamento, e a insuficiência de informações gera julgamentos e estereótipos para os doentes. Os preconceitos e rechaços repercutem no enfrentamento da doença.

Social representations of loneliness in people aged at least seventy years old / Representações sociais da solidão em pessoas septuagenárias e em idosos / Representación social de la soledad en personas septuagenarias y de mayor edad

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the social representations of loneliness in older adults. Method: an exploratory and qualitative research study conducted in Lambayeque, Peru, by applying the Theory of Social Representations. A sociodemographic questionnaire was applied and in-depth interviews were conducted employing the semi-structured instrument with 32 older adults aged at least 70 years old, 50% belonging to each gender. Simple statistics and percentage analysis were applied to the sociodemographic data. The interviews were analyzed in the Alceste software program, subjecting them to lexicographic analysis. Results: the negative social representations refer to weak or impaired social relations with insufficient social support, thus vulnerabilizing older adults. The positive ones refer to pleasurable activities with no other people involved, assuming loneliness as adequate for intimacy, for listening to silence, for enjoying harmony and peace, for internal self-connection and for leading a pleasurable life, valuing it and strengthening the spiritual dimension. Conclusion: there is certain dialectics in the conception of loneliness: negative when it refers to the social context and to older adults' relationships with others; and positive when it represents an opportunity to embrace loneliness and perform pleasurable activities without depending on other people. It is indispensable to foster such positive aspects in the care provided to aged people.

RESUMO Objetivo: analisar as representações sociais da solidão em idosos. Método: pesquisa exploratória e qualitativa, aplicando a Teoria das Representações Sociais, realizada em Lambayeque, Peru. Aplicou-se um questionário sociodemográfico, sendo realizadas entrevistas em profundidade usando um instrumento semiestruturado, com 32 idosos com idade acima dos setenta anos, sendo 50% do sexo masculino e 50% do sexo feminino. Aplicou-se estatística simples e análise porcentual aos dados sociodemográficos. As entrevistas foram analisadas no software Alceste e submetidas à análise lexicográfica. Resultados: as representações negativas fazem referência a relações sociais fragilizadas ou diminuídas, com insuficiente apoio emocional, vulnerabilizando aos idosos. As positivas fazem referência a atividades prazerosas sem presença de outras pessoas, assumindo a solidão como adequada para a intimidade, para escutar o silencio, ter harmonia e paz, conectar-se internamente e viver uma vida agradável, valorar a vida e fortalecer a dimensão espiritual. Conclusão: há uma dialética na concepção da solidão: negativa quando se refere ao contexto social e às relações dos idosos com outras pessoas; e positiva quando representa uma oportunidade de abraçar a solidão e realizar atividades prazerosas sem depender de outros. É imprescindível fomentar esses aspectos positivos no cuidado dos idosos.

RESUMEN Objetivo: analizar las representaciones sociales de la soledad en adultos mayores. Método: investigación exploratoria, cualitativa, aplicando la Teoría de las Representaciones Sociales, realizada en Lambayeque, Perú. Se aplicó cuestionario sociodemográfico y se realizó entrevista en profundidad empleando instrumento semiestructurado, con 32 adultos mayores de 70 años o más, 50% de cada sexo. Se aplicó estadística simple y análisis porcentual a los datos sociodemográficos. Las entrevistas fueron analizadas mediante el software Alceste, practicándoseles análisis lexicográfico. Resultados: las representaciones negativas hacen referencia a relaciones sociales frágiles o disminuidas, con apoyo emocional insuficiente, vulnerabilizando a los adultos mayores. Las positivas hacen referencia a actividades placenteras sin presencia de otras personas, asumiendo la soledad como adecuada para la intimidad, para oír el silencio, tener armonía y paz, para conectarse internamente y asumir una vida agradable, valorar la vida y fortalecer la dimensión espiritual. Conclusión: hay una dialéctica en la concepción de la soledad, que es negativa cuando se refiere al contexto social, a las relaciones del anciano con los demás; y positiva cuando representa una oportunidad de abrazar la soledad y realizar actividades placenteras sin depender de terceras personas. Es imprescindible fomentar tales aspectos positivos en el cuidado de las personas ancianas.