Abstract
This study presents the educational concepts and practices in health of professionals in the Family Health strategy at a small city in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The survey was conducted among 18 high-level professionals, among whom physicians, nurses, and dentists, between October and December 2013. Semi-structured interviews and observation guided by ethnographic principles were used. Bardin content analysis supported the analysis of the material. The results show that the health education concepts and practices are guided by a ‘banking education’ that is based on the transmission and reproduction of knowledge. The educational activities are eminently aimed at disease prevention and conducted largely by nurses and graduate students taking internships at the Family Health Units. It was observed that the health education practiced does not instrumentalize users to develop autonomy and become the subjects of their lives and of their history.
Keywords
health education; family health; professional practice