Interprofessional education in the qualification of integrated health surveillance actions in primary care

Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to systematize a professional qualification strategy in health surveillance based on the reality of the health surveillance work process, incorporating the theoretical-conceptual and methodological references of IPE. Methodology: This is a qualitative and exploratory study conducted using semi-structured interviews. The research was carried out in primary health care settings in a municipality in the highlands of Paraíba. The study involved 24 participants, including the deputy health secretary, the primary health care coordinators, the health surveillance coordinators and some workers who were linked to the basic health units and health surveillance sectors at the time. At first, a semi-structured interview was conducted with the 24 participants. The data was analyzed using the categorical thematic content analysis proposed by Bardin. Results: After processing and analyzing the data produced in the interviews, four thematic units emerged as categories of analysis: “Character of health surveillance actions”; “Skills needed for interprofessional work in health surveillance”; “Collaboration and networking as premises of the health surveillance work process” and “Barriers to interprofessional collaboration in health surveillance”. Next, a professional qualification strategy in health surveillance was developed for primary health care and health surveillance workers, based on the learning needs identified through the interactions during the interviews. The proposal is aligned with the theoretical-conceptual and methodological frameworks of interprofessional health education and was designed in ten thematic workshops detailing the themes/topics, expected competencies, learning objectives, active methodology, learning theory and learning assessment, and with an estimated minimum duration of 120 minutes for each workshop. The discussions were based on the reality of health surveillance in the context of primary health care, from the perspective of the dimensions of interprofessionality. The study highlighted the need to incorporate the principles of interprofessionality in the implementation of the National Health Surveillance Policy and the reorganization of health care models that prioritize comprehensive care in the Unified Health System. Conclusions: In this sense, interprofessional health education proved to be useful and appropriate for the scenario under study, given that interprofessional communication promotedshared spaces for action, with interdependence and co-responsibility for practices.