Introduction:

Vein catheterization is essential for anesthetic and surgical procedures as its characteristics are compatible with stability, flow volume in short periods of time and thick caliber to avoid vascular trauma.

Objective:

To identify women’s social representations of vein puncture for anesthetic and surgical purposes in the light of Neuman’s stressors.

Materials and Methods:

A qualitative study with structural focus on social representations was conducted in a medical surgical unit in Brazil. A complete selection sample (n=180) made up of women (age ≥ 18 years) undergoing vein puncture for anesthetic and surgical procedures was carried out. The free lexical retrieval technique was used with “vein puncture for anesthesia and surgery” as inductive term. A prototypical analysis was performed using EVOC 2003 software. Ethical and legal standards were also met.

Results:

63% were women aged 20 to 39 years and 56.1% had 10 to 13 years of schooling. In the possible nuclear element, feelings (“pain” and “fear”) were found opposed to the contrast zone “(in)certainty-professional skills” and “calm-tranquility” with overactivated objective elements allocated in the first periphery representing intrapersonal, interpersonal and extrapersonal stressors.

Discussion:

Pain, as an object of representation, referred to the justifying function when approached by the needle, which reaffirms the presence of fear, nervousness and anxiety (stressors.)

Conclusions:

Pain, medication, anxiety and nervousness were identified in social representations, which need to be therapeutically controlled through interpersonal relationships of trust between professionals and users, in addition to vein puncture performance, for which it is necessary to promote continuing education among professionals.

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