Objective: To analyze the perception of nurses on the decentralization of care to people living with HIV.
Method: Exploratory, descriptive, qualitative study conducted with primary health care nurses based on Imogene King's Open Systems Theory (personal, interpersonal, and social). The data were obtained through interviews; a sociodemographic/professional questionnaire and a semi-structured script were employed, processed by the IRAMUTEQ software and analyzed through Descending Hierarchical Classification.
Results: Study participants amounted to 32 nurses. Five classes emerged from the analysis: "diagnostic revelation process"; "professional training"; "preventive measures"; "barriers and potentials in the process of decentralization"; and "stigma and prejudice".
Conclusion: In the process of reorganization of the healthcare model for people living with HIV in primary health care, an important contribution by nurses in strengthening the local healthcare decentralization was identified.