The meaning of home visits conducted by medicine and nursing students: a qualitative study with users of family health units

Home visits (HVs) are considered an important technology to comprehend and care for the population's health requirements. Therefore, they must be a part of the health professionals' education. This study seeks to analyze HVs performed by first-year medical and nursing students from the viewpoint of family health unit users. It is a qualitative study in which data are collected by means of semi-structured interviews with users who are visited by Marilia Medical School medical and nursing students. The interpretation of meaning method is used and is based on a hermeneutic-dialectic perspective. The users find it positive that the students go beyond the biological care of the body and focus on interpersonal interrelationships. Nevertheless, the users believe it is necessary to organize and plan HVs accordingly. It may thus be inferred that HVs elicit the interaction between humanized healthcare and its users. Planning and reinforcement of health actions must be continuously improved when planning and conducting home visits.