Abstract

CORTEZ, Mirian Beccheri; TRINDADE, Zeidi Araujo  and  MENANDRO, Maria Cristina Smith. Racionality and suffering: men and healthcare practices. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2017, vol.18, n.2, pp.556-566. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/17psd180222.

We identified and analyzed social representations of health and disease according to 218 adult men. We aimed to discuss possible impacts of these representations on their healthcare practices. Participants answered to free association technique based on inductive terms “health” and “disease”, presented separately. Data were organized by EVOC software. We identified, based on Social Representation Theory, nuclear and peripheral elements (of health and disease). This allowed to identify three types of evocations: particular; shared and oppositional. Oppositional associations reveal dualistic representations that reinforce binarism health-disease/positive-negative. Negative feelings and sensations evocated by the term “disease” were analyzed as a possibility to create actions among users and health professionals to discuss the impact of masculine culture on healthcare men's believes and practices. We reinforce the importance of create politics and services that enable rethink these male representations so health services become more attractive to men. This way, men may be able to turn their sporadic/emergencial healthcare into regular attention to themselves.

Keywords : social representations; health; disease; masculinity; healthcare.

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