[Relationship between health care professionals and HIV positive women: a gender approach]

This article presents the results of research in 2003 focusing on the relationship between health care professionals from a public clinic and HIV positive women, adopting a gender approach. Ten patients and seven attending professionals were interviewed on the following themes: gender representations; representations of HIV/AIDS in women; and accommodation and resistance strategies to internalized attitudes and values regarding the health professional/patient relationship. According to the results, health professionals attempted to adjust the treatment to the limited resources of both the institution and the patient, endeavoring to offer the most complete care possible. Their social imagery continues to portray the traditional role of woman/mother/wife, perceived as a victim. Meanwhile patients adopted a "fighting woman" image, reinforced by the "modern woman" ideology, produced in both public and private spheres, disguising the effects of the women's double workload. Contrary to the myth of passivity, patients took an active stance towards their treatment, negotiating with health professionals about their own needs and objective possibilities. Despite the material and symbolic limitations, the potential was identified for changes in health care in order to achieve full reproductive rights.