O Programa Saúde na Escola sob o olhar dos Gestores, Educadores e Participantes: Um estudo no município de Manaus

Abstract

For some decades now, schools have been considered a prime setting for health-promoting actions. In Brazil, the Health in School Program (PSE) was instituted by presidential decree no. 6,285, from December 5, 2007. In the county of Manaus, adherence to this program took place in 2008, with activities beginning in 2009. The PSE s main objective is promoting health within the school environment. This program proposes a partnership between schools and the Basic Units of Family Health (UBSF) within the same are of coverage to develop and implement the activities together. In Manaus, by the end of 2011, 37 county schools had adhered to this program, with activities carried out in partnerships with 49 health units. This descriptive-exploratory research, using a qualitative approach, was carried out in three schools and four UBSF teams based on the perception of the social agents involved. 33 subjects participated in the research, 20 of whom were 5th grade elementary students and 01 were 4th grade , aged between 9 and 13, from two schools which were active in the PSE, and 12 professionals, 2 administrators from the education and health administrative committee, 3 school directors, 3 educational professionals, and 4 health professionals. With the professionals, we used a semi-structured interview, and with the students we used a questionnaire with open and multiple-choice questions. The information collected was submitted to a content analysis as proposed by Bardin (2004). The results obtained from the professionals indicate the perception of common problems in students health, such as caries, dermatological problems, nutritional or carenciais and parasitic infections. In this sense, most professionals reaffirm the importance of the PSE, especially in prevention, and only one of them defines the program within the broader and more integral area of the field of health promotion. In this sense the professionals still indicate many difficulties which impede the effectiveness of the program, among these the lack of family partnerships, faulty logistics, the lack of well qualified health professionals, and low support among teachers. As positive aspects, they indicate the integration between the education unit and the health unit, the integration between school and student, as well as the possibility of acquiring educational resources and health equipment. There is a consensus that the PSE should be extended and rethought for greater efficiency. Among the students, the results indicate the perception that the PSE is simply a school activity where they learn mainly how to have good oral health. It did show up as having an impact on some student s daily routines change of habits and socialization with family members but others showed no change. We conclude, based on this data, that the PSE has not yet been consolidated as a health program within schools, limited to specific activities, in need of a greater involvement of all social actors involved.