Objective To understand the impact that healthcare professionals have on the perception of health promotion and disease prevention campaigns of individuals with HIV in Medellin, Colombia in 2012.
Materials and methods: The research was conducted using a qualitative approach, based on the Strauss and Corbin´s Grounded Theory; thirteen people were interviewed during two sequential steps. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed in accordance with the theory mentioned above, by performing an open and axial coding on the data found. Results A total of 1 324 codes were generated in the open coding process (creating six descriptive categories) and axial coding process (identifying four analytical categories; one of them is developed as a result in this paper). The most relevant findings included the importance given by the participants to the role of health professionals when supporting HIV-positive patients in the acquisition of healthy lifestyles to properly manage their condition. Also, the role that those people who already contracted the virus have for the promotion of sexual behaviors to minimize the risk of infection is stated. Conclusion The doctor-patient relationship poses great challenges in terms of health services management for the different actors of the system. Likewise, these challenges must be taken into account when creating future public policies.