The Functioning of Outreach Programs Of/On the Street and the Work Processes of the Nurse

Abstract

Abstract Problem Homeless people (PSR) are a heterogeneous and fragile group. They are among the most excluded ones from health service access because they cannot present a regular home. They are also a population who have great difficulty of accessing the entrance and mostly search only for emergency and urgency services when their lives are at stake. This intervention is important because it aims at decreasing the inequalities to health access and, moreover, it decreases the difficulties to health access. Description of the problem A field visit to an outreach program on the street (CR) in Belo Horizonte was made on April, 22nd and on May, 6th in 2019. This program is linked to a Health Center. The objectives were knowing the functioning of outreach programs on the street and understanding the assignments and participation of the team nurse on working with PSR. Results By acting with and approaching PSR, the nurse can create contact and humanized listening. This is an attempt to establish user / professional bonds. During this contact, the professional struggles to encourage the user to search the health attention net. This professional also approaches the rupture with home, with the family, with the work, and with others. He/She tries to support users to face the challenges and to stimulate social reinsertion as well. Tests on the street to detect HIV/AIDS and syphilis are made, guaranteeing the individual privacy right. By approaching PSR, it is crucial that the nurse, who is part of the multi-professional team, be free of any prejudice and stigmas which can make the attendance success difficult. The application of health expanded concept was also present because it considers the complexity of health, mainly to those who inhabit the streets. Lessons The nurse can succeed in facing inequity. This decreases not only the barriers established by social inequalities but also the organizational barriers PSR are exposed all the time. Key messages Attendance prioritizes local care. It not only tries to attend social and health problems but also shared actions with Health Centers. At last, it should be an example to other countries. It is important for health professionals to reinvent their practices, searching partnerships and the acquisition of new knowledge to succeed in decreasing individuals’ demands.