The Challenge of Offering Specialization Courses in Primary Health Care in the Open University of the Unified Health System for Professionals of the Provision Programs

ABSTRACT The implementation of new public policies in Brazil to make up the shortfall of primary health care workers requires the provision of educational opportunities as part of the core strategy. This study presents the case of the provision of specialization courses for professionals in primary health care through the Open University of the Unified Health System (UNA-SUS) in the context of two federal programs: Valuing Primary Care (Provab) and More Doctors (PMMB). The vacancies were offered by fifteen public higher education institutions of the UNA-SUS System. Forty-one thousand professionals from all over Brazil, including doctors, dentists and nurses, where enrolled as students. Quantitative data about the courses and students was collected from the Arouca Platform - the information system of UNA-SUS. The qualitative indicators selected for analysis were: the numbers of professionals waiting to enroll on the course, of students who died, of professionals who failed to enroll, and of students who enrolled, graduated and dropped out of the course. The students were also required to write a course conclusion work, and these are published in the UNA-SUS open access repository (Ares). A sample of 2163 course conclusion works where reviewed using the hermeneutic-dialectic approach. Results: It was found that to date, 20,437 graduated from basic health care specialization courses and a further 8,201 are currently taking courses. The man themes chosen for the course conclusion work were: chronic non-communicable diseases, tumors and pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium, children’s health and health of the elderly. It was concluded that the use of innovative pedagogical strategies by educational institutions led the professionals to reflect on their practice, review their work processes, and sometimes change those processes, and a broader sharing of knowledge and experiences. It seems that the courses prepared the participants for their professional activities in primary health care, improved their specific knowledge about Brazil’s Unified Health System, and provided digital literacy, especially for foreign students.