Social representations of health professionals on negligenced diseases

Objective: To analyze the contents and the structure of social representations built by health professionals regarding neglected diseases. Methods: This is a qualitative research, supported by the Theory of Social Representations that uses a structural approach, with 51 health professionals who work in care services for neglected diseases in a municipality in the state of Bahia. Data collected through free evocations to the inducing term neglected disease during the first half of 2016 and analyzed by EVOC software. Results: The representational structure was formed by four dimensions (social, individual, socio-individual and imaginary) that explained the interface between the possible central core with the terms neglect/lack of knowledge and the peripheral elements with the terms poverty/lack of investment. Conclusion: The representational structure of health professionals translated the concept and image of neglected diseases, allowing for changes in individual and collective practices that are effective in combating these diseases.