NURSING EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE AIMED TO HEALTHY CHILD DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of the present study is to identify the concept of health education that guides the educational practice of nurses who work in Primary Health Care, aimed at promoting children’s healthy development. The data were collected from September 2012 to January 2013, through interviews with 10 nurses who work in the Family Health Strategy, in the city of João Pessoa-Paraíba. Thematic analysis was the technique used in the treatment of the empirical material. Some nurses were unaware of the importance of the health education process, keeping biologicist views of this process, while others reported developing educational practices only during child care consultation, which however did not include stimulation of neuropsychomotor development. Therefore, it is necessary to awaken the thinking/acting of these nurses, in order to broaden the concept of health education for including child development monitoring in their practices.