Health professionals’ perception of the Brazilian program to combat vitamin A deficiency

• Main Author: Brito, Virginia Rossana de Sousa
• Publication Date: 2016
• Other Authors: Vasconcelos, Maria Gorete Lucena de, Diniz, Alcides da Silva, França, Inácia Sátiro Xavier, Pedraza, Dixis Figueroa, Peixoto, Juliane Berenguer de Souza, Paiva, Adriana de Azevedo
• Format: Article
• Language: por; eng
• Source: Revista Brasileira em Promoção da Saúde
• Download full: https://ojs.unifor.br/RBPS/article/view/4077
• topic: Vitamin A Deficiency; Qualitative Research; Health Services.; Deficiencia de Vitamina A; Investigación Cualitativa; Servicios de Salud.; Deficiência de Vitamina A; Pesquisa Qualitativa; Serviços de Saúde.

Objective: To identify the health professionals’ perception of the National Vitamin A Supplementation Program. Methods: Exploratory, descriptive and qualitative study, conducted with 15 health professionals selected by intentional sampling, who worked in Primary Health Care Units and maternity units of the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil, between the months of February and May 2010. For data collection, a semistructured interview was applied, conducted by guiding questions. Data was submitted to Content Analysis in the thematic mode. After analysis, three thematic categories emerged. Results: The interviewees’ perception was focused on the micronutrient supplementation to the detriment of other relevant actions to the program. The lack of qualification/training, the fragmented work process in the teams, the irregularity of the capsules supply, and the lack of educational and technical material on the program were cited as hindering points, and are liable to contribute to non-understanding of its proposal, as a set of articulated actions for vitamin A deficiency combat and/or control. Conclusion: The results point out the need for a critical and reflexive training process for the health professionals, in addition to the production and spread of educational material aiming at improving the Program and its dissemination, at the technical rules standardization, and the regularity of supplementation. It is suggested that further studies be developed involving other actors within the Program(mothers, managers), with the aim of understanding other factors that might contribute to the program in the achievement of the expected impacts.