SOUSA, A. R. et al. Ser homem com doença falciforme: discursos sobre o adoecer e o autocuidado [Being a man with sickle cell disease: discourses about falling ill and self-care]. Acta Paul Enferm, v. 34, eAPE03384, novembro de 2021.
Available on: https://doi.org/10.37689/acta-ape/2021AO03384
Objective: To understand the experience of masculinity in the illness of men with sickle cell disease and the challenges for self-care. Methods: This descriptive and qualitative study was developed in a reference center for monitoring people with sickle cell disease. Thirteen adult men with sickle cell disease participated, who responded to The Thematic Drawing-and-Story Procedure and a semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed by Collective Subject Discourse. Results: The discourses of men with sickle cell disease were organized into four central ideas: Finding oneself ill, knowing the disease and performing self-care; The limitations imposed by the disease permeate masculinities; Stigma and discrimination add to suffering caused by the disease; Men also feel pain and need to take care of themselves. Conclusion: The hegemonic masculinity model is contradicted by limitations of illness and by learning of self-care, promoting the resignification of being a man based on the experience of chronic disease.