PURPOSE: to investigate speech therapists knowledge and application as for the National Policy of Humanization (NPH) in a public hospital in Belo Horizonte METHOD: it is a qualitative and qualitative study. With 25 speech therapists answering a self-applicable questionnaire, used as instrument for data collection, elaborated by the authors. A quantitative analysis was carried through on the questions referring to sample characterization and also a qualitative analysis of the content, through which the categories of analysis were identified and ranked, as well as contents' frequency as for the occurrence and expressions being used. RESULTS: it was possible to perceive in the quantitative analysis that 68% of speech therapists had been graduated for more than five years; 88% were post-graduated; 52% also acted in private institutions and 60% declared being familiar with NPH. In the qualitative analysis, content was organized in the following categories: service organization; instruments used for professionals and team training; management of multi professional and inter-sector works. CONCLUSION: in what concerns the concept of humanization presented by the speech therapists, it is in consonance with what has been described in the National Politic of Humanization. About the criteria needed in order to guarantee a humanized assistance taking as reference the institution, the user and the professional, the interviewed subjects partially cited the principles of the National Policy of Humanization.
Humanization of Assistance; Public Health; Unified Health System; Tertiary Health Care; Health Knowledge; Attitudes, Practice
