Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

This study aimed to analyze the social representations of professionals working at Family Health Support Centers operating under the 4th Regional Executive Department, in Fortaleza, state of Ceará, Brazil, with regard to interdisciplinarity in their daily work. It is a qualitative study, which used participant observation techniques and semi-structured interviews with 15 professionals and coordinators to collect data. The theoretical saturation criterion was used in the sample definition. The analysis used the in-depth hermeneutics. The representations were organized in these categories: Process under construction, undertaking joint activities, and outcome of the teams’ commitment. The paths taken point to yet embryonic interdisciplinarity, the outcome of numerous factors that are intrinsic and extrinsic to the group itself. The difficulties arising from pressure imposed by management for productivity, the incipient planning, the training process that incorporates some of this perspective, and the precarious labor relations are elements that have a negative impact on the performance of interdisciplinary practices. The speeches denote endless possibilities that are built in the field of health and inspire overcoming the fragmentation of multiple knowledge that works in the collective perspective

Professors are exposed to increased tension at work on account of the fragmentation of their activities and of the responsibilities demanded of them without, in many cases, their having the conditions they need in order to respond adequately. Such a situation may represent stressful conditions, which increase the risk of mental disorders. We investigated the association between common mental disorders and stress factors at work among professors teaching in nine health courses at a private university in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The dependent variable was the presence of mental disorders, as measured by General Health Questionnaire 12. Stress factors at work were evaluated based on the Effort-Reward and Excessive Commitment model. The other variables were sociodemographic, occupational background, behavioral, and related to general health. The data were submitted to descriptive analyses, bivariate analyses, and Poisson regression. A total of 175 professors participated (80.0%), of whom 19.5% had mental disorders. These disorders were more prevalent among professors making the most effort at work (PR= 1.8, 95% CI= 1.01-3.46) and less prevalent among those with higher quality of life in their physical domain (PR= 0.95, 95% CI= 0.93 to 0.97). It can be concluded that there is a considerable prevalence of common mental disorders among university professors, which were higher among those who put more effort into their work and had lower quality of life in their physical domains.

This qualitative exploratory study focused on the narrative of professionals working at Childhood and Adolescent Psychosocial Care Centers. The goal was to describe and analyze the backgrounds of the staff of these centers and their relationship to the process of insertion and practice in this field, as well as to understand how these backgrounds influence these professionals’ everyday work. A questionnaire with open questions and narrative interviews were used. The total study population comprised eight workers from different professional categories working at two childhood and adolescent psychosocial care centers in the city of São Paulo, state of São Paulo, Brazil, one managed directly by the city, while the other by a social health organization. It was shown that politics is not often cited by the organization's employees, while for city professionals is an important part of the meaning of their work. All respondents bear similarities, among which the assimilation of the treatment offered to children based on adult rules, having worked at hospitals and clinics, and the professional's focus on the disease, not the subject of the suffering. Captive of these representations, these professionals experience competencies, skills, and thoughts that give rise to improvisation and anguish.

This article aims to review the scientific literature on the use of active learning methodologies in health education. This is a review of the literature using the Virtual Health Library database to select the articles. The survey took place from September to November 2012. Fifteen full articles were selected in the search. The results showed that using active methodologies motivates students and directs them to seek information to solve impasses and further their own development, making them realize that new learning is a necessary, significant tool to enhance their possibilities and paths. These methodologies have also contributed to changes in the health professionals’ way of thinking and acting, who started to interact in a plural space of interests, potentials, and capabilities.

This study aimed to determine if the views the staff working at shelters for youth have about the hurdles they face at work are related to deficient selection, capacity building and training. A qualitative survey was carried out at two shelters located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 2008 and 2010. The 47 interviews conducted with shelter professionals and field observations at group workshops were transcribed. The analysis of the data identified hot spots that can lead to violence, interfere in task management and worsen psychosocial risks, compromising the mental health of both caregivers and of the youth being assisted. Their accounts were compared with the recommendations featured in the Technical Guidelines for foster care for children and adolescents, and we concluded that although this document allows the mapping of the actions to be taken by the professionals and provides guidance on the best ways to accomplish the fostering task, it needs to be assimilated and experienced in order to reduce the gap between what is prescribed and the actual reality.

This study aimed to investigate the view nursing professionals have of moral harassment and how to identify these situations as experienced by the professionals in this area, as well as their causes and consequences for these workers’ health. This is a qualitative exploratory research study in which 15 nursing professionals working at family health facilities in the city of João Pessoa, state of Paraíba, Brazil took part. Data collection took place between April and May 2013 by means of a recorded interview. The data were analyzed using the content analysis technique. The analysis of the material revealed three categories: Moral harassment: Concept and characteristics from the nursing professionals’ viewpoint; Moral harassment behaviors experienced by nursing professionals, and Consequences of the moral harassment. We conclude that moral harassment is widespread among nurses and nursing technicians, although some professionals understand the concept of this practice, and the prevalence of the descending type is notorious.

Throughout history, Psychiatry developed psychological theories and healing models that required specific organizational settings to be implemented. With the reform movements and the emergence of the field of psychosocial care, it was necessary to rethink human resources. The purpose of this study is to present the construction of the figure of the assistant in mental health in the historical context of the Brazilian psychiatric reform. The study was conducted from the perspective of the Oral History of the mental health policy in the city of Quixadá, state of Ceará, Brazil, due to its contributions related to organizing work in psychosocial care centers. Based on the results attained through a review of the literature, rules, documents and interviews, the creation of the figure of assistant in mental health, a job done by elementary and secondary level workers is considered a contribution. According to interviewees, this position favored the reduction of the stigma related to the mentally ill; the internal decrease in hierarchy among professionals; the establishment of all workers as care professionals, and closer links and more satisfaction with the job and other workers.

This article presents the results of a survey that examined the experiences of professionals working in providing foster care at basic health units. The assumption was that the neoliberal logic is increasingly present in various social fields, including public health services, influencing their labor relations and organization and, thus, possibly hindering the practice of fostering the Ministry of Health recommends. Five reflexive interviews were carried out among professionals working with fostering at basic health units. The interviews were submitted to content analysis. The results indicate that formal employment, the need for flexibility, and the lack of resources are indicative aspects of precarious working conditions. Coupled with the prevalence of the doctor-centered care concept and over-medicalization, this undermines the fostering practice the Ministry of Health recommends. The interviewees showed they are aware of these contradictions in their daily work, but are powerless to change the situation. These aspects make up the subjective precariousness that these professionals are submitted to and generate mental strain that can result in suffering and illness.

This article is a prospective, descriptive study using a qualitative approach that investigated, through focus groups, the views that the employees of a Psychosocial Care Center for Children and Adolescents, CAPSi, in the interior of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, have on health and mental health. The theoretical framework is based on Christophe Dejours’ work psychodynamics, on the policies and guidelines of the Ministry of Health, and on the concepts of health and mental health proposed by the World Health Organization. The material was analyzed using theme coding based on approach made of the structure. The main results include the ability to resolve conflict situations and to undertake some bodily activity as strategies to maintain health and mental health, in addition to the integrated understanding of health, including physical, psychological, and social aspects.

This paper presents the experiences of nutritionists in food and nutrition education activities at schools located in Duque de Caxias, a municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over the past ten years. The methodology for systematizing experience is based on the assumption that this collective learning activity takes place from the critical interpretation of practices in dialog with the theory. Personal collections and projects were queried and, later, individual and group interviews conducted with nutritionists. It was possible to note great diversity in the actions developed, in the interest in intersectoral action, and the progressive incorporation of the right to food discourse. The partnerships established between nutritionists and popular movements mark the description of the experiments. Food and nutrition education was affirmed as an interdisciplinary field of action. In contexts of great injustice, it is essential to incorporate principles of popular education, such as loveliness, dialog, and commitment to the oppressed. The systematization signals that nutritionists, guardians, teachers, cooks and other school professionals have been key players in the experiments, and indicates the potential for the increased participation of the students.