A educação permanente no âmbito da saúde mental e o médico atuante na atenção primária

Abstract

Abstract

This study sought to understand the process of Permanent Health Education (PHE) from the perspective of physicians working in Primary Health Care (PHC), in the field of mental health. To do so, a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive approach was adopted, in which through interviews with physicians working in the PHC of a city in the state of Alagoas/Brazil, data was produced, whose corpus was treated by applying thematic content analysis. The PHE was perceived by medical professionals as a necessary and important formative practice in the performance, capable of filling gaps or deficiencies in training, providing transformations in mental health care. However, it is also recognized that PHE is not a process instituted in the daily routine of medical practice, and this context, in the mental health field, is linked to the management's lack of interest in proposing updates. Thus, it is necessary to rethink the PHE process in PHC, with regard to mental health, so that its effectiveness is able to provide transformations in medical practice, producing a comprehensive and quality mental health care.

KEYWORDS: Mental health. Primary care. Permanent education. Physician.