Journal of Specialized Nursing Care

E-LEARNING TO PROMOTE BRAZILIAN BLACKS’ HEALTH & TO RAISE AWARENESS OF INSTITUTIONAL RACISM*

 

Isabel Cristina Fonseca da Cruz

Maria do Carmo Sales Monteiro

Alysson F. Lemos

Lina Sandra Barreto Brasil

 

The Open University of the National Health System (UNA-SUS) is a public educational system dedicated to the health workers. UNA-SUS began in 2008 and in December 2010 a Presidential Decree, published, established the UNA-SUS (the system of the  Open University of Brazil’s National Health System) and has seventy-thousand health professionals involved in its continuing educational programs, a third of which in family health specialization courses. UNA-SUS is based in three core elements: a collaborative network of public universities, an open access repository of learning resources for health (ARES) and an integrative curricular platform (Plataforma Arouca).

The Brazilian Health Care System –Sistema Único de Saúde SUS, created in the 80s, improve the access and quality of health services provided mainly to the poor. However, SUS does not guarantee an adequate access of Brazilian Black population to health and health care. Thus, in 2006, the PNSIPN (National Policy for Integral Health of the Black Population) was created, inserted in the SUS, to combat three main issues:

1. Desconstruct racism as a determinant of health of the Brazilian Black population;

2. Reduce iniquities and disparities in the health outcomes with high rates of morbidity and mortality in the Brazilian Black population; and

3. Inclusion of Afro-Brazilian traditional health practices in health care.

After the PNSIPN, the cultural dimension and ethnic-racial health iniquities have also gained in importance. However, the clinical encounter has resulted in a need for a more intercultural approach, free of racial bias. So, based also on the Política Nacional de Educação Permanente em Saúde ([PNEPS] National Policy for Continuing Education for Health Professionals), the Black Movement along with sectors of the Health Ministry, as SGEP (Social Participation) and SGTES (Work Management), demanded a course to the UNA-SUS.

This study point out the development of a self-instructional course in PNSIPN, anti-racism education and Afro-Brazilian culture awareness for 130,000 health workers. A 45 hours independent study online course is being developed based on experiential learning. The interactive online materials for the course are presented and discussed in this paper.

An evaluation instrument/questionnaire to measure changes on staffs awareness, knowledge, skills and comfort level, as well as staff satisfaction with and impact of the anti-racism education will be applied.

Focal persons will measure documentation and interviews provided relevant information for benchmarking. Five criteria for evaluation will be considered:

1. Feasibility / acceptability of the training;

2. Quality of the training;

3. Effectiveness of the training;

4. Cost effectiveness;

5. Sustainability.

Success of the PNSIPN online education will be evaluated on basis of two criteria:

-The ability of attracting a large number and professional mix of staff and

- Absence of ethnic-racial iniquities in the practice-level indicators of safety and quality for primary health care.

Those two criteria are presumed rather independent and pilot health units could achieve different degrees of successfulness concerning participation and effectiveness.

* Abstract accepted to EDULEARN14 at: www.edulearn14.org/submit

 



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