Nurses' perceptions of the vulnerabilities to STD/AIDS in light of the process of adolescence

• Main Authors: Ítalo Rodolfo Silva, Antonio Marcos Tosoli Gomes, Glaucia Valente Valadares, Nereida Lúcia Palko dos Santos, Thiago Privado da Silva, Joséte Luzia Leite
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
• Series: Revista Gaúcha de Enfermagem
• Subjects: Enfermería; Adolescente; Enfermedades de transmisión sexual; Vulnerabilidad en salud
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1983-14472015000300072&lng=en&tlng=en

Objective: to understand the perception of nurses on the vulnerabilities to STD/AIDS in light of the process of adolescence.Method: qualitative research conducted with 15 nurses in a centre for the studies of adolescent healthcare of a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil. The adopted theoretical and methodological frameworks were the Complexity Theory and the Grounded Theory, respectively. The semi-structured interview was used to collect data from January to August 2012.Results: this research presents the category: Nurses' perceptions of the vulnerabilities to STD/AIDS in light of the process of adolescence, and the subcategories: Risks and uncertainties of the process of adolescence: paths to STD/AIDS; Age-adolescence complex: expanding knowledge from the perception of nurses.Conclusion: once the nurses understand the complexity of adolescence, they create strategies to reduce the vulnerability of adolescents to STD/AIDS. This signals the need to invest in education, assistance and the management of nursing care for adolescents.