Fundamentos psicológicos y construcción de la competencia comunicación del diagnóstico de virus de inmunodeficiencia humana

Abstract

Introduction: Health Psychology is a discipline that addresses the communication of diagnosis to the patient.

Objective: To argue that Health Psychology provides the psychological theoretical foundation for the conceptual structure of the competence in communicating the diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Methods: A theoretical-conceptual study was conducted, based on a critical-interpretative analysis of literature to establish a genealogical thesis from Health Psychology regarding the conceptual structure of the competence in communicating the diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection. Original and review articles, master's theses, foundational texts published between 2020 and 2025, in Spanish and English, were considered. The search was performed in the Scopus, SciELO and Google Scholar databases, from May to December 2025. The keywords were: “communication,” “competence,” “diagnosis,” “human immunodeficiency virus,” “health psychology.” With the preselected studies, titles and abstracts were read to assess their relevance; excerpts were selected to fulfill the objective and provide critical judgments. A total of 65 articles were reviewed, with 20 forming the final text.

Results: From Health Psychology, elements of the competence's conceptual structure were outlined: identification, contextual problems, process axes, performance indicators, and required evidence that contribute to improved communication of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus diagnosis.

Conclusions: The conceptual structure of the competence was constructed from Health Psychology, transforming the clinical communication of an adverse diagnosis into an elaborate psychological intervention process.