Popular beliefs and practices: influence on the nursing child attendance on the Family Health Program

Abstract

This study had the aim of knowing the influence of popular beliefs and practices on the nursing child assistance, according to nurses from the Family Health Program – (PSF). This descriptive and exploratory study of qualitative nature was accomplished in PSF(s) of Crato-CE district. The sample consisted of 6 nurses that worked in the referred district’s PSF. As data collecting instrument, a partially structured script of an interview was applied, consisting of six questions, approaching themes related to popular beliefs and practices, such as: the most frequent ones, their interference in the professional’s activities and how the professional responds to them. The results were obtained from the individual’s speech, classified according to the technique of organizing the data in categories and subsidized with the literature about this thematic. According to most of the nurses, popular practices and beliefs influence negatively on the attendance, as the mothers seek for alternatives and use practices that can be harmful to the child’s health. Only one nurse referred that the popular practices and beliefs influence the child assistance in a beneficial way, affirming to be able to act in partnership with the family. It is concluded that a partnership between popular medicine and health services is necessary, so that the nursing professionals can accomplish their work with wide acceptance of the community’s culture.