Percepção e utilização da educação em saúde para o uso racional de medicamentos por médicos

Objective: To understand the perception and utilization of health education for the rational use of medicines (RUM) by physicians working in primary healthcare. Methods: Qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory research, conducted in 2011, with seven physicians of the Family Health Strategy, by means of individual semi-structured interview. Data was analysed through the content analysis technique, emerging three thematic categories and their subcategories: partial perception of the concept of rational medicines use; partial perception of the concept of health education; not valuing the potentiality of employing health education in rational medicines use. Results: The results showed that the physicians’ perception of the concepts are fragmented and divided into concepts related to the professionals, the disease, the drug, and to the patient and community. Conclusion: The use of health education by the physicians prioritizes its traditional model, with emphasis on the transmission of technical-scientific knowledge. 10.5020/18061230.2014.p485