The being-with-another in the serodiscordant condition: a phenomenological approach to the individual HIV vulnerability

Abstract

To comprehend the serodiscordance and individual HIV vulnerability in being-with-another serodiscordant relationships. A qualitative study anchored in the Hermeneutic Phenomenology of Martin Heidegger. Eight seropositive patients and their serodiscordant partners participated in the study, totalizing 16 participants. The interview was the instrument used to obtain narratives experienced by the couples. The phenomenological concepts of “being-with” and “being-in-the-world”,described by Heidegger allowedthe senses and meanings related to the serodiscordance phenomenon to be evident in detail. The social constructions of masculinity, the reduced ability of the couple in negotiatingsafe sex practice, the use of antiretroviral therapy asan HIVprotection factor added to cultural influences were foundas the main situations of the individualvulnerability of the serodiscordantexistence. The comprehension of the existential meaning of being-couple-serodiscordant, according to the ontologic structure “being-one-with-another” instigate changes in the nurse praxis, giving the opportunity todistinctiveand integral attention to the serodiscordant couple.