Abstract

SOUZA DE SANTANA CARVALHO, Evanilda; SANTOS PAIVA, Mirian  and  CASADO APARICIO, Elena. Sex is good, but I can´t!: representations of chronically wounded women and men. Index Enferm [online]. 2013, vol.22, n.3, pp.137-141. ISSN 1699-5988.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1132-12962013000200005.

Objective: Perceive and analyze social representations about sex, elaborated by women and men who have been chronically wounded. Methods: Qualitative study. Data were collected from fifty-one adults, patients of a public hospital in Salvador, through the Free Word Association Test and the in-depth Interview, and subsequently through Theme Content Analysis. Results: Three apprehended categories, meaningful to understand the sexual behavior of wounded men and women will be discussed: sex is good and healthy; sex may worsen wounds and, sex is something prohibited. Wounded people avoid sexual relations because they believe it may imply loss of vitality or that they will be less healthy. Conclusions: Nursing professionals can interfere with therapeutic listening for a re-elaboration of those representations, demystifying taboos that may compromise the satisfaction of a sexual relation and the quality of life.

Keywords : Sexuality; Chronic Disease; Human Body; Body Image; Holistic Nursing.