Socio-environmental Health in primary care: knowledge, training and practice

ABSTRACT Human exposure to harmful chemical substances and compounds is a global reality that makes health promotion increasingly necessary for the people and communities exposed in their area. Considering that socio-environmental health observes the movement of pollutants at the environment-health-society interface, an attempt was made to analyze the knowledge, training, and practice of primary care teams in relation to socio-environmental health, focusing on the reduction of diseases due to exposure and poisoning by these substances. A Likert-type scale without a central point was used, validated by a group of 11 specialists and 3 primary care professionals. Minimal dispersion was ensured by the application of the survey and the calculation of Pearson’s linear correction coefficient and reliability was assessed by the Spearman-Brown’s reliability coefficient, using the split-half method. The survey showed that the knowledge dimension was generally classified as in a safe situation, the training dimension as in a danger situation, and the practical dimension as in an alert situation. Training was the only dimension that required immediate change in the overall results. Although the knowledge and professional practice dimensions were in a situation of maintenance and improvement, respectively, they are not acquired in formal educational institutions.