FORMAÇÃO DE NUTRICIONISTAS QUE ATUAM NA ATENÇÃO PRIMÁRIA À SAÚDE

Abstract

Abstract: Primary Health Care (PHC) is the main gateway to a free, comprehensive, and universal care network. For PHC to promote the bond and offer care, it is the responsibility of all government spheres to ensure health professionals' provision and retention strategies, especially nutritionists. The training of nutritionists must meet the social needs of health, in line with the Unified Health System (SUS), with the development of skills needed to intervene in the field of ensuring the human right to adequate food and the effective promotion of healthy eating. The general objective of the research was to identify, along with nutritionists, how they evaluate the relationship between their training and performance in PHC. The specific objectives were to describe the profile of nutritionists working in PHC, identify and describe the activities developed by nutritionists, describe how nutritionists evaluate their training concerning their work in PHC, and verify whether the training prepared the professional to face the nutritional transition and to implement nutritional care actions. Exploratory research with a quantitative-qualitative approach was carried out. Participants were 17 nutritionists who work in PHC in the cities of the 10th Health Regional Office of the State of Paraná and answered the online questionnaire and eight nutritionists who gave interviews. Data were collected through an online questionnaire, self-completed, and synchronous online interviews. Descriptive statistics analyzed the quantitative data, and the qualitative data were submitted to thematic content analysis. In article 1, supported by quantitative and qualitative data, the participants were young women; it was evident that there are strengths and gaps in training for PHC, especially in the preparation to enter the job safely. Article 2, with qualitative data, reinforces the need for PHC experience before the last year of the course. The data demonstrate conventional teaching-learning methods; however, the courses comprehend the nutritional transition movement. Although they report that their training was insufficient or partially sufficient for developing skills and competencies to work in PHC, these professionals perform their activities in practice. Nonetheless, they focus more on activities related to individual care, referring to the predominance of individual clinical teaching, with few disciplines focused on social