The aim of this study is to understand how nurse professionals perceive the present situation of public health. This is a qualitative research, of descriptive, critical and analytical nature. It was carried out from June 1999 until September 2000 in a public hospital in Fortaleza. Thirty nurses were the subjects of this investigation. Nineteen of them accepted to participate in the study, eight refused to answer the questionnaire and three were on a maternity leave. Questionnaires and indepth-interviews were used to collect data. Content analysis was adopted to examine the interviews. It was concluded that nurses have a diversity of feelings in relation to themselves, as health workers, inserted in the public health context. The participants in the investigation also referred to the contributions nurse professionals have given to the public health service in Brazil.
nursing; public health; public health service; qualitative research