Self-directed learning among primary health care doctors: an analysis in light of the theory of social representations

Abstract: Introduction: In a scenario of a great information availability, the production of scientific knowledge in medicine has been increasingly accelerated. The way the medical professional perceives and directs their acquisition of knowledge still lacks national studies, particularly in times of easily accessible internet. Objective: To analyze the social representations of physicians working in Primary Health Care (PHC) teams about self-directed learning. Method: This is a qualitative-quantitative study based on Moscovici’s Social Representations Theory, with a structural approach to Abric’s Central Core Theory, conducted in three municipalities of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on the subject, which were recorded and transcribed. The freely evoked words that emerged from the inducing term “medical self-learning” were analyzed with the aid of EVOC® software through the four-quadrant chart and CHIC® software analyzed the similarity. Content analysis was performed for the participants’ speeches. Results: Fifty interviews were carried out and the freely evoked words that possibly constitute the core of the representations were “knowledge”, “dedication”, “study”, “reading”, “need”, contrasting “research” and “book”. Conclusion: The results showed that the learners’ characteristics, practice as a learning locus as opposed to theory, associated with the time barrier, define the core content of the social representation of the participating physicians. In this assessed context, PHC reinforces its importance as a scenario for medical self-learning.

摘要：引言：在信息海量可得的当下，医学领域的科学知识产出正日益提速。当前国内仍缺乏针对医疗从业者感知与规划自身知识获取路径的相关研究，在互联网信息触手可及的时代尤为如此。
目的：分析就职于初级卫生保健（Primary Health Care, PHC）团队的医师对自主学习的社会表征。
方法：本研究基于莫斯考维茨的社会表征理论，结合阿布里奇的社会表征核心理论开展，属于定性定量混合研究，在巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州的三个市镇完成。针对研究主题开展半结构化访谈，对访谈内容进行录音与转写。以“医学自主学习”为诱导词生成的自由联想词汇，借助EVOC®软件通过四象限图表开展分析，CHIC®软件则用于分析词汇相似性。同时对参与者的访谈文本进行内容分析。
结果：共完成50例访谈。构成该社会表征核心的自由联想词汇包括“知识”“奉献”“学习”“阅读”“需求”，与“研究”“书籍”形成鲜明对比。
结论：研究结果显示，学习者自身特质、以实践而非理论作为学习场域，以及时间壁垒，共同界定了受访医师社会表征的核心内容。在本次评估的场景中，初级卫生保健作为医学自主学习的场域，其重要性得到进一步凸显。