Ensino do cuidado à família na formação em enfermagem: análise de cursos de graduação de instituições públicas do Paraná

Abstract

Given the national scenario, in which the Family Health Strategy is the cornerstone of Primary Health Care, and recognizing the central role of the family in social organization, human development, and the health-illness process, it is essential that nurse training includes skills focused on family care. From this perspective, this dissertation aimed to analyze how the family system has been addressed in the training process in undergraduate nursing courses at state higher education institutions in Paraná. This is a qualitative study, developed from a combination of document analysis and semi-structured interviews. The Thematic Content Analysis proposed by Bardin was employed, using MAXQDA24® software. The study integrated the analysis of the eight Political-Pedagogical Projects of the state higher education institutions in Paraná that offer undergraduate nursing courses and the participation of 14 teachers. Of these, seven coordinators and seven teachers were interviewed. The participants had a high level of academic qualification, extensive experience in higher education, and solid performance in healthcare practice. The results, organized into three complementary and interdependent studies, provided an in-depth understanding of how Family Nursing has been incorporated into the training of nurses. In general, it was evident that this component is addressed in a sporadic and fragmented manner, without support from consistent theoretical references and without a specific training structure for teaching this subject. Gaps were found in the definition of competencies, in the articulation between theory and practice, and in the incorporation of the family dimension as a cross-cutting theme in the curricula. Although the importance of the family as a unit of care is recognized by both teachers and coordinators, teaching practices occur in isolation, sustained by the individual initiative of teachers, without any systematic documentation. Among the challenges identified were teacher turnover, the lack of consistent theoretical training on families, and the absence of structured institutional guidelines. Potential strengths included the engagement and commitment of the teaching staff, the value placed on Family Centered Care, and the recognition of continuing education as an essential strategy for strengthening the theoretical and practical aspects of this dimension in nursing education. It was concluded that the inclusion of the family system in training, although recognized as relevant, remains incipient, fragmented, and lacking in consolidated theoretical and methodological support. The mismatch between the educational discourse and the curriculum shows that the family dimension has not yet been incorporated as a structuring axis of the educational process. Strengthening this perspective requires a critical review of pedagogical projects, faculty training, and the institutionalization of training policies aligned with the principles of the Brazilian public health system.