Self-perception of the objective, object and work products of Physical Education Professionals belonging to the Academia da Saúde Program

Resumo

Work processes begin by establishing intervention objectives, followed by defining the object that professionals seek to transform and the availability and means of performing tasks and achieving the expected products. The aim of this study was to assess the perception of physical education professionals regarding the purpose of their activities, the object of their professional intervention and the products of their work in the Academia da Saúde (Health Academy) Program. To that end, we carried out a qualitative study with 18 professionals working in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, Pernambuco state, in northeastern Brazil.  Content analysis of the interviews used the condensation of meaning technique. It was found that these workers identified health promotion as a goal of their actions, individuals and communities as objects of their intervention, and improvement of physical and functional performance, social interaction and biopsychosocial benefits as the main products of their work in the program. On the other hand, perception of health promotion focuses on changing behavior, and lack of coordination in program activities with Basic Health Care teams demonstrates a worrisome move away from proposals for intersectoral and organizational multidisciplinary work processes with a view to comprehensive care in the National Health System (SUS).