Meio ambiente e saúde no Programa PET-Saúde: interfaces na atenção básica

Environmental degradation has altered our current scenario at an accelerated pace and interfered negatively in the health-disease process. It thus becomes essential to discuss environmental health with healthcare professionals. In Brazil, the PET-Health Program is a facilitator in this process, and the Family Health Strategy units provide an excellent setting. This study aimed to analyze the perceptions of health-care professionals and users concerning this theme in two Family Health Strategy units in Botucatu, Sao Paulo State, and to raise their awareness through theoretical discussions and experiences. We interviewed 45 healthcare professionals and 36 users, of whom 21 were referred by community health workers as having a positive relationship to the environment and the other 15 referred on the basis of having a negative relationship to the environment. A qualitative methodology was used, specifically collective subject discourse analysis. All the participants proved to be aware of environmental and health problems and what could be done to improve the situation, but few related activities were undertaken in the units. The results emphasize the need to train environmental health teams, encouraging the adoption of cross-disciplinary practices that extend beyond curative health practices to encompass health promotion, in addition to empowering the population to struggle and to be responsible for a more balanced environment, thereby improving their quality of life.