CONSENSUS OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSORS ON THE MAIN PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES FOR TRAINING IN THE BRAZILIAN UNIFIED HEALTH SYSTEM

ABSTRACT Objective: to establish consensus from experts on the essential elements for training aimed at the Unified Health System (Sistema Unico de Saude), considering public health assumptions and the Brazilian National Curriculum Guidelines (DCN - Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais). Method: this is an evaluability assessment carried out with public health professors based on a logical model built with a focus on DCN and on large areas of public health. Criteria matrix validation was performed through Delphi consensus, carried out in three rounds between June and August 2017. The database was built in an Excel spreadsheet and analyzed after each round. At the end of the last round, the database presented its final composition for export to the Stata software, in which statistical analysis was performed. Results: at the end of three rounds, 18 experts validated the criteria matrix composed of 40 items. The most significant approaches were related to the subdimensions Health care, Popular education, Humanization, Popular participation, Social accountability, and Planning and management. Conclusion: the validated criteria matrix is characterized as an important instrument for knowledge construction based on a premise that, by taking over the essential skills for training at DCN, the training process may be problematized by all actors involved. The current Brazilian political scenario, crossed by austerity policies that challenge consolidating the main constitutional rights, should serve as encouragement for a professional training aligned with public interests, especially DCN, in health courses.