Knowledge and Practices of Professionals of The Family Health Strategy on Promoting Child Development

Abstract

Introduction: The first years of life are fundamental for the promotion of child development. It is relevant the support of health professionals to caregivers, in the perspective of health promotion. Objective: to analyze the knowledge and practices of professionals from the Family Health Strategy (FHS) on the promotion of child development within their daily work, based on the bioecological theory of Human Development, by Bronfenbrenner. Methods: Descriptive-exploratory study with a qualitative approach. Twenty-nine professionals from three FHS participated in the city of Recife-PE. Data collection took place from August to November 2018, through semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and analyzed using the Atlas T.I software, version 8.0. Descriptive coding was carried out, later, the analytical coding, which resulted in three categories (Child health care, Family participation in care and Difficulties encountered by health professionals). Results: Professionals refer to individual factors, in addition to contextual factors related to the world of work, which directly influence actions related to the surveillance of child development. Conclusion and implications for practice: From the interrelationship of the different components that interfere in the knowledge and practices of health professionals in promoting child development, the importance of understanding this theme from the bioecological model is ratified, to promote educational actions from the work environment and the experiences of these professionals.