Abstract
Background
The child's nutritional care favors its adequate growth, thus having the nurse a fundamental role in this process.
Objective
To evaluate the structure of health units and the training and performance of nurses in the Family Health Strategy related to the nutritional care of children under five years old.
Method
Evaluative research with a quantitative approach and cross-sectional design in which 92 nurses from 43 municipalities of Paraíba were interviewed, between january and september 2018. Structural characteristics of health units, the profile of nurses and the actions developed by these professionals in the nutritional care of children were evaluated. The proportions found were compared according to stratification considering the receipt of financial incentives in the area of nutrition by the municipality.
Results
In the structure, there were shortcomings in the availability of technical documents. The training of nurses in terms of nutrition was deficient, with a worse situation in the municipalities without financial incentives in the area. In relation to the actions developed, there have been failures pertinents to food and nutritional surveillance, as well as the implementation of group activities to promote an adequate and healthy food, the prevention and treatment of micronutrient deficiencies and the care of children with specific nutritional needs.
Conclusion
The performance of nurses in the nutritional care of children may have some weaknesses in the three levels of intervention (diagnosis, promotion and prevention, care/treatment) that need to be overcome.
Keywords:
primary health care; nutrition programs and policies; work performance