The Michelle P. Waiver (MPW) is the primary means of health insurance for more than 10,000 people in the state of Kentucky. The waiver is especially popular among families with young children with disabilities because it is robust in its benefit offerings and also one of the few Medicaid resources that does not include parental income as a qualifying factor in eligibility. Through the waiver, children receive a medical card as well as additional coverage for medical expenses that fall beyond the scope of traditional health insurance. For these young children to gain access to the comprehensive offerings of the MPW, their parents must apply for the waiver, negotiate the terms of service, and make critical health care decisions on their behalf, or at least until they reach adulthood—although this responsibility often extends throughout the child’s life. The present study builds upon recent research on parental uncertainty in caregiving for children with complex care needs. By combining two ecological approaches to health communication research, Brashers’s (2001) uncertainty management theory (UMT) and Ball-Rokeach, Kim, and Matai’s (2001) communication infrastructure theory (CIT), my aim in this dissertation was to explain how meso-level (e.g., community organization) interactions influenced parental caregivers’ experiences of uncertainty. I collected data through narrative interviews with 31 parents of children who are currently receiving services through the MPW and analyzed them using narrative thematic analysis. The analysis focused on the community-level communication that contributes to parent caregivers’ ability to successfully access and negotiate care within the MPW system. Findings show that parents experience unique personal, social, and medical uncertainties related to the MPW. In addition, the findings demonstrate that MPW-related uncertainty and decision making are managed with a variety of strategies aimed to decrease, increase, or maintain desired levels of uncertainty. Finally, findings showcase how one’s connectedness to community storytelling at the meso level, particularly within online communities and disability network communities supports their adaptive management of MPW-related uncertainty. This project contributes to the health communication literature theoretically by (a) expanding the conceptualization of the uncertainty in illness framework to include the means of health care (i.e., Medicaid) as a consequential element of an individual’s illness experience, (b) identifying two additional strategies of uncertainty management (i.e. advocacy and vigilance), and by (c) extending existing notions of residency, connectedness, and belongingness within the CIT framework to include membership in online and disability-specific networks. Practically, this project offers important insights that can guide future research exploring the role of meso-level communication in parent caregivers’ management of waiver-based care, such as in identifying the need for a systematic communication process that introduces potentially eligible families to the MPW.

Successful physician-patient communication is increasingly being acknowledged as a vital aspect of healthcare today. Research in the field has not examined all aspects of patient-centered care and the aspects that have been studied have not been grounded in actual patient action. The research done in the field has largely been studied quantitatively. The present thesis research attempts to contribute to the gap in the field of physician-patient communication by qualitatively examining patient assertiveness. This thesis examines conversations between women in Portland, Oregon recently diagnosed with breast cancer talking to their surgeons about their diagnoses and treatment options. Using grounded qualitative theoretical analysis, this thesis uncovered five major themes of patient assertiveness in breast cancer care.

Hypotheses on the efficiency of evidence-based printed materials can be directed by health communication concepts. These concepts can provide a general framework that goes beyond the traditional vulgarization point of view: instead, it points towards a strategy to obtain health outcomes and provoke behavior change, from a disease prevention, management and health promotion perspective. The present study proposes a comprehensive framework based on concepts from health risk communication, Tarde's theory of social values, usability, readability and plain language. Using the mapping approach, an evaluation grid was applied to printed evidence-based materials with proven effectiveness, in order to reveal the underlying strategy and isolate the characteristics of effective materials. The results allowed us to define two types of printed evidence-based materials, according to the robustness of the evidence they contain and the target audience. It was also possible to identify indicators of notions that are translated into operationalized items, frequent in those materials that might be responsible for their efficiency: clear purpose of the documents, limited scope, learning motivation and correspondence to the logic, experience and language of readers. Effectiveness of printed evidence-based materials could also be correlated to numeracy, objectiveness, standard definitions, constant timeframes and denominators, risks enumerated in order of importance, effective response, and high degree of threat, urgency, novelty and visibility of the disease. It was also possible to identify some missing communication concepts: cultural diversity, narrative, increased easiness of procedures and aesthetic advantage for the patient. In the process of work, the theory of social values emerged as a dynamic component that can bring together and explain many concepts, as well as physician’s acceptance of the guidelines. Value in terms of usefulness and truth plays a major role in cognitive appreciation of the documents. This concept gives a strategic meaning to the whole work and allows us to better understand attitude and behavior change.

loveLife, the South African national HIV/AIDS prevention programme for youth, is known for its brand-oriented billboards and mass media campaign that ranges over various print-, broadcast- and alternative media. However, the organisation also implements a national grass-roots peer motivation programme where various activities are co-ordinated by youths (GroundBREAKERS and Mpintshis) from the community. The organisation has been criticised for its communication approach, with many researchers primarily focusing on the organisation's mass media and billboards. This study investigates the communicative approach(es) in loveLife's programme implementation in the light of the normative theory of participatory communication. The focus of this study is to identify how loveLife describes its communication approach, what communication approach the organisation employs and how the organisation's communication approach is perceived by a sample of its target audience. The research was conducted by means of a literature review, qualitative content analysis of loveLife's policy documentation and a selection of the organisation's media. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted at head office, which are contrasted with focus groups with the participants at an implementation site. Broadly, it was found that loveLife's programme is more participatory than most critics would expect and that the organisation attempts to put its primary focus on face-to-face communication. But, there is also tension in what loveLife communicates on a national level and how it relates to grass-roots activities as the national / media-driven communication is more modernistic in its approach, whereas the grass-roots communication is more participatory. / Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

loveLife, the South African national HIV/AIDS prevention programme for youth, is known for its brand-oriented billboards and mass media campaign that ranges over various print-, broadcast- and alternative media. However, the organisation also implements a national grass-roots peer motivation programme where various activities are co-ordinated by youths (GroundBREAKERS and Mpintshis) from the community. The organisation has been criticised for its communication approach, with many researchers primarily focusing on the organisation's mass media and billboards. This study investigates the communicative approach(es) in loveLife's programme implementation in the light of the normative theory of participatory communication. The focus of this study is to identify how loveLife describes its communication approach, what communication approach the organisation employs and how the organisation's communication approach is perceived by a sample of its target audience. The research was conducted by means of a literature review, qualitative content analysis of loveLife's policy documentation and a selection of the organisation's media. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted at head office, which are contrasted with focus groups with the participants at an implementation site. Broadly, it was found that loveLife's programme is more participatory than most critics would expect and that the organisation attempts to put its primary focus on face-to-face communication. But, there is also tension in what loveLife communicates on a national level and how it relates to grass-roots activities as the national / media-driven communication is more modernistic in its approach, whereas the grass-roots communication is more participatory. / Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:47:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarianaPS_DISSERT.pdf: 2738410 bytes, checksum: 57acadc5ae898f14de694389f6b696f2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-20 / The current study strives to address the interpersonal relationships of the nursing team from the perspective of the communicative action, by contributing to the health work process. It aims to analyze the interpersonal relationships of the nursing team in its work environment. This is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach. Data collection wal held from interviews, guided by a script with open questions. The study was conducted at a state hospital in the city of Natal/RN/Brazil. The research subjects were the workers of the nursing team, including nurses, nursing technicians and nursing assistants, totaling 16 subjects. The capture of information was performed in April 2012. The project was approved by the Ethics Research Committee, under CEP/UFRN protocol n. ? 262/11 and Certificate of Presentation for Ethical Consideration n. ? 0289.0.051.000-11. The analysis was performed from the categories that emerged from the research through a dialogue with the authors studied in the theoretical framework of the Theory of communicative action , by J?rgen Habermas, as well as The changing in the world of work, by Ricardo Antunes, and Characterization of the team , by Marina Peduzzi. The outocomes point out that the interpersonal relationship of the nursing team is very troubled, with no interaction among the individuals involved in this process, among themselves and with other health professionals. We have developed a particular concept about team, which is comprised of three essential elements: multiplicity of individuals, common objective and heterogeneity. In the studied environment, it was realized the existence of grouping teams. The interpersonal relationship of the nursing can be a facilitator or an obstacle in the workplace in such a way that causes positive or negative consequences, both to the health workers, and to the sicks. In this context, the interviewees have intensified their viewpoints with regard to the weaknesses that permeate the nursing relationship, by pointing them more frequently than the strengths. The work conditions have signaled a failing situation, which is evidenced by the constant improvisation process before the lack of human and material resources, low wages, deficit in recognizing the nursing worker, and physical and emotional wear, by creating a professional exhaustion. The devaluation of the worker also became a strong factor for this study, because it was characterized a reason of job dissatisfaction, due to the lack of valuation policies, which should be prepared by the institution or, even, they are unknown by the worker itself. The worker participation in the design of these policies has emerged as a relevant factor. The poor work conditions lead the worker to a process of professional demotivation and dissatisfaction, by causing the feeling of devaluation within its work environment. Hence, it was found in this research that the lack of communication leads to situations of inadequate interpersonal relationships, which are creators of an unsuitable environment for the performance of the nursing team / O presente estudo pretende abordar as rela??es interpessoais da equipe de enfermagem sob a ?tica da a??o comunicativa, contribuindo para o processo de trabalho em sa?de. Tem como objetivo analisar as rela??es interpessoais da equipe de enfermagem em seu ambiente de trabalho. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo com abordagem qualitativa. A coleta das informa??es ocorreu a partir de entrevistas individuais, guiadas por um roteiro com quest?es abertas. O estudo foi realizado em um hospital estadual no munic?pio de Natal/RN. Os sujeitos da pesquisa foram os trabalhadores da equipe de enfermagem, incluindo enfermeiros, t?cnicos e auxiliares de enfermagem, totalizando 16 sujeitos. A capta??o das informa??es ocorreu no m?s de Abril de 2012. O projeto foi aprovado pelo Comit? de ?tica em Pesquisa, sob protocolo CEP/UFRN 262/11 e Certificado de Apresenta??o para Aprecia??o ?tica n? 0289.0.051.000-11. A an?lise foi realizada a partir das categorias que emergiram da pesquisa atrav?s de um di?logo com os autores estudados no referencial te?rico da Teoria da a??o comunicativa , de J?rgen Habermas, como tamb?m as Transforma??es do mundo do trabalho , de Ricardo Antunes, e a Caracteriza??o de equipe , de Marina Peduzzi. Os resultados apontam que o relacionamento interpessoal da equipe de enfermagem ? bastante conflituoso, n?o havendo intera??o entre os sujeitos envolvidos neste processo, entre si e com os demais profissionais da sa?de. Elaborou-se um conceito pr?prio de equipe, composto por tr?s elementos essenciais: multiplicidade de indiv?duos, objetivo comum e heterogeneidade. No ambiente estudado, percebeu-se a forma??o de equipes agrupamentos. O relacionamento interpessoal da enfermagem pode ser um fator facilitador ou conturbador do ambiente laboral, de tal forma que cause consequ?ncias positivas ou negativas, tanto nos trabalhadores da sa?de, quanto nos doentes. Nesse contexto, as entrevistadas intensificaram suas observa??es em rela??o ?s fragilidades que permeiam as rela??es da Enfermagem, por apont?-las de modo mais constante em rela??o ?s fortalezas. As condi??es de trabalho sinalizaram para uma precariza??o evidenciada pelo constante processo de improvisa??o diante da falta de recursos humanos e materiais, baixa remunera??o salarial, d?ficit no reconhecimento do trabalhador de enfermagem e desgaste f?sico e emocional, gerando um esgotamento do profissional. A desvaloriza??o do trabalhador tornou-se tamb?m um fator marcante para esse estudo, por se caracterizar em um motivo de insatisfa??o profissional, devido ? falta de pol?ticas de valoriza??o elaboradas pela institui??o ou, at? mesmo, desconhecidas pelo pr?prio trabalhador. A participa??o do trabalhador na elabora??o dessas pol?ticas despontou como relevante. As condi??es prec?rias de trabalho levam o trabalhador a um processo de insatisfa??o e desmotiva??o profissional, ocasionando o sentimento de desvaloriza??o em seu ambiente de trabalho. Assim, constatou-se na presente pesquisa que a aus?ncia da comunica??o conduz a situa??es de relacionamentos interpessoais inadequados, criadores de um ambiente impr?prio ao trabalho da equipe de enfermagem

Este estudo teve o propósito de analisar a percepção, a experiência e os sentimentos dos familiares que perderam seu ente querido, bem como dos profissionais que prestaram atendimento a estes pacientes em dois hospitais públicos distintos, em uma UTI para Adultos e na UTI Pediátrica na cidade de Porto Alegre, RS. Foi aplicado um questionário semi-estruturado para as enfermeiras e os médicos, que neste estudo são chamados de profissionais. Concomitante, foi realizada uma entrevista aberta com os familiares dos pacientes que morreram dentro destas Unidades. Nas entrevistas, utilizou-se o método de análise de conteúdo interpretativo, buscando compreender as possíveis realidades, expressas ou não, nas mensagens analisadas. Pela análise das entrevistas, pode-se concluir que as famílias têm sentimentos de confiança em relação à equipe assistencial; que a comunicação é clara e compreensível; fazendo-se necessário o planejamento de espaços físicos adequados para que a família possa se sentir mais acolhida dentro das UTI, e urge a aproximação entre os familiares e profissionais a fim de que o sofrimento com a morte deixe de ser apenas um fato gerado pela doença física e tenha entendimento multidimensional. As famílias referem que o apoio institucional está restrito às questões burocráticas (entrega da certidão de óbito) e que não tiveram nenhum tipo de apoio após a morte do seu familiar. Os resultados dos questionários mostram que temas como a morte e o morrer são pouco debatidos, que a equipe precisa ser mais bem preparada para cuidar de pacientes no fim da vida e que a presença da família dentro das UTIs ainda requer maiores discussões, a fim de que possa ser vista como uma parte do cuidado e não como acompanhante/visitante. É possível que, através de ações simples, a instituição hospitalar possa auxiliar as famílias a elaborarem o luto durante o período de internação hospitalar e até mesmo após o óbito dos seus familiares, oferecendo um alívio ao sofrimento, uma segurança em relação à assistência e uma melhor qualidade de cuidado. / This study had the intention of analyzing the perception, the experience and the feelings of relatives who have lost loved ones, likewise the professionals who care to them in two different public hospitals, one an adult ICU and the other a pediatric ICU at the city of Porto Alegre, RS. A questionnaire was applied to the nurses and doctors, in this study called professionals. Simultaneously, an interview was conducted with the families of the deceased patients at the Unites. In the interviews it was used the method of imperative content, trying to understand the possible realities, expressed or not, of the analyzed messages. Through the analyze of interviews it was possible to intuit that the families had a feeling of trust into the care team; that the communication is clear and understandable; making it necessary the planning of proper physical space, so the families can feel more welcomed in the ICU, and urges an approach between the families and the professionals in order to make the grief less painful and start to be seeing as a multidimensional understanding. The families report that the institutional support is restricted to bureaucratic matters (delivery of death certificate) and that they never had any support after the passing of their family member. The questionnaire‘s results show that the subject of death and dying are little discussed, and that the team needs to be more prepared to care patients at the ends of their lives and the presence of families inside the ICU still requires further discussions, so they can be seen as part of the care and not as a companion or visitor. It is possible that, through simple actions, the hospital institution can help families elaborate mourning during the time of hospitalization and even after the death of their relatives, offering a relive to the pain, a security to the assistance and a better quality of care.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:31:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Conceicao Aparecida Sanches.pdf: 671671 bytes, checksum: ea838f61c60826c5827385cdee0eb78e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-04-27 / Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo / This research aims to investigate whether a group of university students from São Paulo city has a dangerous sexual behavior towards HIV, what is the group s knowledge about HIV and what are its most frequent doubts about the subject. It has also a specific aim of investigating the group s use of Internet in order to solve doubts, its strategies of searching and faith on the information found. In this perspective, our job is a descriptive and exploratory research with qualitative character. A digital questionnaire was elaborated and answered on a notebook by 400 students at the gate of 4 Faculties from North, South, East and West Regions of São Paulo 100 students each. This research is done completely under the Brazilian Laws, especially as allowed by CNS 196/96 Resolution of National Health Counselor. In order to process, analyze data and verify its variants, quantitative proceedings were used. Finally, in order to contextualize our research, it was done a Health and Communication Historical panorama that articulates the methodological orientation of the bibliographical and documental research / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo geral investigar se um grupo de universitários da cidade de São Paulo tem comportamento sexual de risco em relação ao HIV, qual é o conhecimento que o grupo tem sobre HIV/AIDS e quais são as suas dúvidas mais freqüentes sobre o assunto. Além disso, tem como objetivo específico averiguar se o grupo usa a Internet para esclarecer suas dúvidas, quais as estratégias de busca utiliza e se considera que a informação obtida é confiável. Trata-se, portanto, de uma pesquisa exploratória e descritiva, de caráter qualitativo. Como instrumento de campo, construímos um questionário digital de coleta de dados, aplicado pela pesquisadora, usando um computador portátil tipo notebook a 400 estudantes na entrada de quatro unidades de ensino superior da cidade de São Paulo, sendo 100 informantes em cada uma e sendo cada unidade em uma região: Norte, Sul, Leste e Oeste. Além disso, temos ainda o Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido TCLEconforme determina a Resolução do Conselho Nacional de Saúde CNS 196/96. Para processar e analisar os dados e proceder ao cruzamento das variáveis foram usados procedimentos quantitativos. Para contextualizar nosso objeto, lançou-se um olhar sobre o panorama histórico da Comunicação e Saúde que se articula com a orientação metodológica da pesquisa bibliográfica e documental.

Este estudo teve o propósito de analisar a percepção, a experiência e os sentimentos dos familiares que perderam seu ente querido, bem como dos profissionais que prestaram atendimento a estes pacientes em dois hospitais públicos distintos, em uma UTI para Adultos e na UTI Pediátrica na cidade de Porto Alegre, RS. Foi aplicado um questionário semi-estruturado para as enfermeiras e os médicos, que neste estudo são chamados de profissionais. Concomitante, foi realizada uma entrevista aberta com os familiares dos pacientes que morreram dentro destas Unidades. Nas entrevistas, utilizou-se o método de análise de conteúdo interpretativo, buscando compreender as possíveis realidades, expressas ou não, nas mensagens analisadas. Pela análise das entrevistas, pode-se concluir que as famílias têm sentimentos de confiança em relação à equipe assistencial; que a comunicação é clara e compreensível; fazendo-se necessário o planejamento de espaços físicos adequados para que a família possa se sentir mais acolhida dentro das UTI, e urge a aproximação entre os familiares e profissionais a fim de que o sofrimento com a morte deixe de ser apenas um fato gerado pela doença física e tenha entendimento multidimensional. As famílias referem que o apoio institucional está restrito às questões burocráticas (entrega da certidão de óbito) e que não tiveram nenhum tipo de apoio após a morte do seu familiar. Os resultados dos questionários mostram que temas como a morte e o morrer são pouco debatidos, que a equipe precisa ser mais bem preparada para cuidar de pacientes no fim da vida e que a presença da família dentro das UTIs ainda requer maiores discussões, a fim de que possa ser vista como uma parte do cuidado e não como acompanhante/visitante. É possível que, através de ações simples, a instituição hospitalar possa auxiliar as famílias a elaborarem o luto durante o período de internação hospitalar e até mesmo após o óbito dos seus familiares, oferecendo um alívio ao sofrimento, uma segurança em relação à assistência e uma melhor qualidade de cuidado. / This study had the intention of analyzing the perception, the experience and the feelings of relatives who have lost loved ones, likewise the professionals who care to them in two different public hospitals, one an adult ICU and the other a pediatric ICU at the city of Porto Alegre, RS. A questionnaire was applied to the nurses and doctors, in this study called professionals. Simultaneously, an interview was conducted with the families of the deceased patients at the Unites. In the interviews it was used the method of imperative content, trying to understand the possible realities, expressed or not, of the analyzed messages. Through the analyze of interviews it was possible to intuit that the families had a feeling of trust into the care team; that the communication is clear and understandable; making it necessary the planning of proper physical space, so the families can feel more welcomed in the ICU, and urges an approach between the families and the professionals in order to make the grief less painful and start to be seeing as a multidimensional understanding. The families report that the institutional support is restricted to bureaucratic matters (delivery of death certificate) and that they never had any support after the passing of their family member. The questionnaire‘s results show that the subject of death and dying are little discussed, and that the team needs to be more prepared to care patients at the ends of their lives and the presence of families inside the ICU still requires further discussions, so they can be seen as part of the care and not as a companion or visitor. It is possible that, through simple actions, the hospital institution can help families elaborate mourning during the time of hospitalization and even after the death of their relatives, offering a relive to the pain, a security to the assistance and a better quality of care.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:16:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 5392168 bytes, checksum: 00116e52b8de0ddc2602189a3d10fdf0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This study aims at apprehending the social representations (SR) elaborated by the participants of an urban area of risk and the printed media reports concerning dengue fever. It was used the Theory of Social Representation as theoretical approach. This thesis was constructed into two parts - (i) theoretical and (ii) empirical studies. The first study counted on empirical field research, included 563 participants, 263 were high school teenagers, mostly male (56%) aged between 14 and 18 years (M = 15.9, SD = 1.1) and 300 adults, mostly women (63%) aged between 20 and 59 years (M = 34.9, SD= 10.7), both groups are residents of an urban area of risk in Cuiabá, state of MT. As instruments for collecting data, it was used, biosociodemographic questionnaire, technique of free association of words (inducing stimuli: dengue fever, dengue symptoms, causes dengue and care for preventing dengue) and in depth interviews. The data generated by the questionnaires were processed by the PASW 18 and analyzed by descriptive statistics. The software Trideux was used due to its correspondence factor analysis for processing the free associations of words and variables of the participants. The discourse of the participants was processed and analyzed by the software Alceste according to its lexical analysis (standard and cross-table). The results revealed that 40% of adolescents and 43% of adult residents of the community contracted dengue fever. The semantic fields associated to dengue by the two groups were characterized by the terms disease and death, probably associated with standing water. Dengue has been represented as a synonym of the mosquito that causes the disease, which the participants associated with danger and fear, causing some symptoms (fever and headache). The symptoms of dengue were anchored in the physical-organic dimensions (bleeding, rash, muscle pain, vomiting, body ache, lack of appetite, tiredness, headache, eye pain, nauseas) and psycho affective element as sadness. The causes of dengue were associated with people, certainly when they accumulate water scarcity (water shortage), leaving standing water in uncovered containers and leave old tires, garbage, bottles and dirty yard, potential breeding sites of dengue vectors. Regarding the actions taken to prevent dengue, some procedures have been done for preventing and disease control (sand in the vases, cover the containers, to be careful, do not leave standing water, cleaning, clean the gutters), these elements were anchored in normative and behavioral dimensions diffused by media. The interview analysis showed five thematic categories named (characterization of the locality, public policy and media events, medical care and dengue hemorrhagic fever, deep rooted habits and attitudes, concepts and sources of information), complementing the knowledge of the SR shared by the studied groups. Concerning the texts originated by the newspapers Folha de Sao Paulo and A Gazeta submitted to Alceste (standard procedure and cross table analysis) five thematic categories were named (dengue epidemic in Ribeirão Preto, dengue fever, signs and special physical exams, dengue cases in Mato Grosso; potential breeding sites for dengue vector and dengue prevention practices; and scientific research on dengue). The findings of both studies showed consensual SR characterized by the educational messages diffused by the print media and are also incorporated, disseminated and propagated by the participants. On the other hand, there were some nonconsensual SR between the print media and social actors. For the first, the knowledge was guided by the sanitary and epidemiological discourse, less evident in the voice of the participants of the urban area of risk for dengue. These social actors anchored their knowledge in macro structural aspects, highlighting their historical and factual experiences, beyond the psycho emotional and relational aspects concerning the magnitude of the disease. Lastly, this study intended to contribute to the programs of healtheducation for dengue prevention and control, giving special attention to the popular knowledge. / Objetivou-se apreender as representações sociais (RS) da dengue elaboradas por moradores de uma zona urbana de risco e das notícias veiculadas pela mídia impressa. Utilizou-se a Teoria das Representações Sociais como aporte teórico. A tese foi dividida em duas partes (i) marco teórico e (ii) estudos empíricos: uma pesquisa de campo e outra documental. O primeiro estudo contou com 563 participantes, dos quais 263 são estudantes do Ensino Médio, a maioria do sexo masculino (56%), com idades entre 14 e 18 anos (M=15,9; DP=1,1) e 300 adultos, a maioria do sexo feminino (63%), com idades entre 20 e 59 anos (M=34,9; DP=10,7), ambos os grupos residem em uma zona urbana de risco em Cuiabá, MT. Como instrumentos foram utilizados, questionário biossociodemográfico, associação livre de palavras (estímulos indutores: dengue, sintomas da dengue, causas da dengue e cuidados para evitar a dengue) e entrevista em profundidade. Os dados advindos do questionário foram processados pelo PASW 18 e analisados por meio de estatística descritiva. O software Trideux foi utilizado para análise fatorial de correspondência das associações livres e variáveis dos participantes. As interlocuções dos participantes foram processadas pelo software ALCESTE e analisadas por meio da análise lexical (procedimentos padrão e análise cruzada). Os resultados evidenciaram que 40% dos adolescentes e 43% dos adultos afirmaram já ter contraído dengue. Os campos semânticos associados à dengue pelos dois grupos foram objetivados pelas palavras doença e morte, transmitida pelo mosquito. A dengue foi representada como sinônimo do mosquito causador da doença, que submete as pessoas ao perigo e medo. As manifestações da dengue foram ancoradas em aspectos físico-orgânicos (febre, dor de cabeça, hemorragia, manchas vermelhas, dor muscular, vômito, dor no corpo, falta de apetite, cansaço, dor nos olhos, ânsia) e psicoafetivo (tristeza). As causas foram associadas às pessoas, que certamente acumulam água quando da sua escassez (falta água), deixando a água parada em caixa destampada, além de deixarem pneu velho, lixo, garrafas e o quintal sujo, potenciais criadouros do vetor. Quanto aos cuidados para evitar a dengue, foram objetivadas algumas alternativas de prevenção e controle da doença (colocar areia no vaso, tampar a caixa, cuidado, não deixar água parada, limpeza, limpar as calhas), as quais foram ancoradas em dimensões normativas e comportamentais veiculadas pela mídia. A análise das entrevistas apresentou 5 classes temáticas (caracterização do bairro; políticas públicas e mídia; manifestações da dengue, atendimento médico e dengue hemorrágica; atitudes e hábitos arraigados; concepções e fontes de informação), complementando o conhecimento sobre as RS compartilhadas pelos grupos de pertença. O segundo estudo foi uma pesquisa documental (matérias jornalísticas sobre dengue e epidemia da dengue veiculadas nos jornais a Folha de São Paulo e A Gazeta). A análise do material verbal realizada pelo ALCESTE (procedimento padrão e análise cruzada) viabilizou 5 classes temáticas (epidemia de dengue em Ribeirão Preto; dengue, sintomas e exames físicos especializados; casos de dengue em Mato Grosso; potenciais criadouros de dengue e práticas de prevenção e; investigações científicas acerca da dengue). Os achados de ambos os estudos apresentaram RS consensuais. Isto é, as mensagens educativas veiculadas pela mídia impressa são incorporadas, difundidas e propagadas pelos moradores. Por outro lado, verificaram-se alguns dissensos entre a mídia impressa e os atores sociais. Para a primeira, o saber é pautado pelo discurso epidemiológico menos evidente nas vozes dos moradores de zona urbana de risco para a dengue. Estes, por sua vez, ancoraram o saber em aspectos macroestruturais, destacando suas vivências histórico-factuais, além dos aspectos psicoafetivos e relacionais diante da magnitude da enfermidade. Os resultados apontaram a necessidade de reformulação de programas de educação em saúde para prevenção e controle da dengue, concedendo atenção especial ao saber popular.