Meanings and significance attributed by people with HIV/aids to their lives with this virus/disease.

ABSTRACT Objectives: to understand the meanings and significance attributed by people with HIV/aids to the process of living with this virus/disease. Methods: qualitative and exploratory study, carried out in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Grounded Theory and the Symbolic Interactionism were used. Data were collected in a semistructured interview and through non-participant observation, from August 2017 to May 2018. 29 patients participated. Results: living with HIV/AIDS is a social phenomenon in which it is not possible to disconnect the process of adapting to the disease from the social relations one (re)constructs during life. It also involves stigmatization, rejection, and isolation. Final Considerations: understanding the meanings of this process is a positive influence for proactive behavior and resilience, not only in regard to the care concerning the presence of the virus and the uninterrupted need to adhere to medication, but also in the way to deal with the social values that reproduce previous models, which, in turn, can help improve self-knowledge.