Formação em saúde do trabalhador nos cursos de fisioterapia: análise dos projetos pedagógicos

Abstract

Introduction: Physiotherapy as a profession began to gain expression after the world wars and the Industrial Revolution, which generated a high demand for rehabilitation In the field of work, COFFITO recognized Occupational Physiotherapy as a specialty in 2016. The National Policy on Workers' Health (WS) provides for the teaching of this topic as needing to exist in the undergraduate curriculum and in this study the difference between the topics of Workers' Health and Occupational Health was exposed for a better understanding. Objectives: Describe training in Occupational Health in Physiotherapy courses at public universities based on pedagogical projects. Methodology: The research analyzed the Pedagogical Course Projects (PPC) of physiotherapy courses at Brazilian public universities to identify the presence of themes related to worker health. A search was carried out in the e-MEC system to locate universities and physiotherapy courses, followed by an analysis of the disciplines in the PPC, focusing on Occupational Health. The data was organized in an Excel spreadsheet, categorizing the subjects by area, workload and other criteria. The spreadsheet gave rise to the table and graphs contained in the study. The research excluded universities without available PPCs and did not require ethics approval as it used public documents. Results: The research analyzed 56 Brazilian public universities that offer physiotherapy, of which 52 have PPCs with subjects on Occupational Health. Of the 13 subjects related to Occupational Health, 69.2% are mandatory and 30.7% optional, with greater offerings in the more advanced years of the course. The average workload is 68.93 theoretical hours and 32.44 practical hours, but many subjects do not have a defined practical workload. Furthermore, 30.8% of subjects require prerequisites, while 38.5% do not. Conclusion: This pioneering study on Occupational Health aims to advance research and help physiotherapists better understand the area. It is suggested that universities follow the guidelines of the National Occupational Health Policy, with mandatory subjects, prerequisites related to biomechanics and collective health, and with practical workload. The implementation of these measures in updated Pedagogical Course Projects (PPC) will contribute to the training of more qualified professionals, essential to meet the health of workers in society.