Perfil epidemiológico de AIDS em mulheres no estado de Santa Catarina

Abstract

Introduction: AIDS infection, caused by HIV is a major public health issue due to its high prevalence, incidence, morbidity, and mortality. According to UNAIDS, in 2023, approximately 39.9 million people lived with HIV globally, and 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses. Objective: To evaluate the epidemiological profile of AIDS infection in women aged 15 to 39 years, residing in the nine macro-regions of Santa Catarina, between 2010 and 2023. Method: A retrospective study was conducted, with secondary analysis of the AIDS case database from the Department of Information and Informatics of SUS, organized and analyzed using Microsoft Excel® spreadsheets. Results: The study identified 2,644 records of infected women, with the highest prevalence of AIDS diagnoses occurring in women aged 30 to 39 years (58.89%). The largest percentage increase in diagnosed cases occurred in 2011, with a 34.62% growth in new cases compared to 2010. Conversely, in 2023, the greatest recorded decrease in AIDS cases was observed, with a 58.97% reduction compared to the previous year. Regarding cities in Santa Catarina, some were noteworthy throughout this research due to their significant number of recorded cases or constant presence in the records. The municipality of Florianópolis, from 2014 to 2021, led the number of disease cases among women in the state. Meanwhile, São José maintained a high number of cases throughout the 14 years of study (2010-2023). Joinville and Itajaí, in turn, showed a consistent moderate to high number of cases, both recording new AIDS cases every year of this study. Conclusion: Given the significant incidence and prevalence of AIDS cases among women in the epidemiological scenario, the development of public policies is necessary to understand the difficulties in the lives of women that contribute to the infection, including socioeconomic issues, lack of knowledge, and inadequate support from the health network. Additionally, considering that the variation in AIDS incidence can be attributed to municipality-specific factors, the development of future research to identify other local elements at the municipal level that influence the spread of AIDS is suggested