Práticas coletivas de educação em saúde na atenção primária à saúde em Contagem - MG

Abstract

Introduction: Education in health represents an important knowledge field and practice for professionals who work on Health Primary Attention, a core activity for peoples` health promotion. In the theoretical field, the intense diffusion that the collective practices in health education in Family Health Strategy must be conducted in a dialogue and participating way,arising in the individual a critical reflection, enabling them to interpret and react to health reality and the environment, because systematized educative actions and or focused directly on informing people rules on a healthy living still prevail. Objective: To analyze Health Education Practices by Family Health Teams in the city of Contagem, Minas Gerais.Methods: A statistically significant amount of 166 professionals who work on the Family Health Strategy participated in the study. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire which is auto-applicable, containing semi-structured questions that address the perception ofthe participants about aspects related to health education as the objectives of this action, the motivations and barriers to their achievement within the Health Primary Attention, selfreported level of knowledge, pedagogical concepts and report of a significant experience ofhealth educations collective practices, as well as factors that are associated with the accession of the collective community health education. Results: A low percentage (28%) of Family Health Teams professionals who reported having adequate knowledge in health education was observed. Health education collective practices, mostly, are performed in a reproductive way or as a continuity of existing groups (35%), in 23,3% of the answers there was mentioning to the use of books on group working techniques and 21,4% reported lack of reference and the use of only their insight to perform education health. The Paulo Freire Method was mentioned in only 4% of the answers. Terms and expressions reported by the participants as descriptive in health education such as affectionateness, behavior and communication through expressions like "feeling", "ethics" and "know how to listen" presented different aspects to the educating performance. Predominance was observed on the assumptions and on the frequency of the health education collective practices realization, strongly limited by the Health Ministry program approaches to the Health Primary Attention as well as to groups targeted for people with diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension. In smaller numbers, other initiatives in a lessinformative way were identified such as living groups and handicrafts groups, which presented signs of changes in the health education developed at the Family Health Teams, which is attempting to be more active, and presenting approaches in other dimensions liketenderness and commitment. Reports on educative processes to strengthen social control were not reported. The difficulties reported by the participants of the study came together with a non-recognition of the collective educative practices as a central activity to Health Attentionby the management, professionals and the community as well. Health education development was described by means of its own potential to raise empowerment, support experiences exchange and better entailment and access to health. Conclusion: A necessity to create apolicy on health education in the city was noticed, due to its importance for the Health Primary Attention programs and actions, as well as bigger investments in the formation and permanent education in the health education area. Investigative initiatives on the other professional categories working in the Health Primary Attention were suggested and also on the ones which were not included in this investigation.