Concept of health: a study with health care professionals and students

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate, by means of a questionnaire, the degree of knowledge that pediatricians, maternal-infant health nurses and medical and nursing students have of the concept of health. Methods: It was a cross-sectional and prospective study, previously approved by UNIFENAS Committee on Ethics in Research, having been carried out with pediatricians (n=42), maternal-infant health nurses (n=69), medical students (n=118), and nursing students (n=68) from two southern towns of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, which have medical and nursing schools. A survey was done in hospitals, medical clinics, City Health Bureaus and universities to reach the total number of students and professionals, weighing the possibility of a professional working in more than a job. The replies were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. For the open questions the contents analysis was used, according to BARDIN (1977). The data were presented in table. Results: According to the answer of 71,74% of the pediatricians 72,60% of the maternal-infant unit nurses, 77,77% of the medical school students and 63,76% of the nursing school students, health is a total physical, mental and social well-being. Health was also found to be a balance between the body and its environment by 10,87% of the pediatricians, 10,95% of the maternal-infant unit nurses, 15.07% of the medical school students and 18,84% of the nursing school students. Conclusions: The difficulty to define health is well known, once it is a condition with different meanings. The notions of health and disease are strongly influenced by the cultural context in which they occur. The binomial health / disease is not related only to microorganisms, but also to socioeconomic, political and educational issue, and, the students as well as the health professionals are committed with this new health concept.