Affections and narratives about obesity in between boxes: a(auto)biographical research in a health education device

Abstract

This work explores the presence of affects in learning within a continuing health education course designed for Primary Care professionals and focused on improving care for individuals with obesity. The course is grounded in socioanthropological studies of obesity. To achieve this, we examined reports from participant students using a pedagogical tool called the “Box of Experiments,” employed in the course as a device for autobiographical production of formative itineraries. As a theoretical and methodological choice, this work was conducted from the perspectives of biographical studies, complemented by philosophical reflections and insights from the field of social and human sciences in health. The results, categorized into two analytical groups, reflect the emotional impacts present in the transformative process of thinking about obesity facilitated by the course. This is particularly evident when participants engage in critical self-reflection on the subject, encompassing personal experiences, knowledge, health professionals’ training, and care performances. Anguish, guilt, and surprise are affects that surface when students narrate their thoughts on the course’s addressed topics, while enthusiasm, impetus, and readiness for change emerge as affects driving the transformation of these professionals’ practices.