Open AccessParticipatory Research on Environmental Health: Exploring the perceptions of family health strategy professionals
Author(s) -
Marcela de Abreu Moniz,
R Vollmer,
Tamiris Rosa de Souza Leite,
Mayara Anne de Freitas Baptista,
Amilton Douglas Ferreira de Araújo,
Victoria de Freitas Pereira,
Ingrid da Silva Souza,
Yasmim Campos dos Santos Maia,
Isabelle Vieira Silva de Souza,
Beatriz Cristina de Oliveira Rocha,
Carolina de Alcantara Campos,
Núria Suiane dos Santos Soares,
Sthéfany Suzana Dantas da Silveira,
Sarah Garcia Naslausky,
Emellen Frez Muniz
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
research, society and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2525-3409
DOI - 10.33448/rsd-v10i9.17956
Subject(s) - sanitation , photovoice , participatory action research , perception , health professionals , environmental health , public relations , public health , environmental planning , health care , environmental resource management , nursing , psychology , political science , medicine , geography , sociology , economic growth , neuroscience , anthropology , environmental science , pathology , law , economics
The increasing environmental degradation and the diversity of environmental issues affecting public health in Brazil have required changing the routines and norms of primary healthcare services. The aim of the current study was to explore the perceptions of family health strategy professionals about priority environmental issues associated with risks to the health of local communities. Participatory action research based on the photovoice and focal group techniques and conducted with 28 professionals from two family health strategies in the Casimiro de Abreu County, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Although participants were sensitive to health risk situations associated with inadequate environmental sanitation conditions, they showed limited perception about these risks and about possible actions to be taken in order to change local issues. Professionals of the two localities did not perceive themselves as co-responsible actors for improving the environmental conditions of the territory. There is need of taking contextualized environmental education actions focused on empowering and engaging health professionals, and the investigated community, to reduce health risk conditions through the equal access to sanitation services.