Desenvolvimento de tecnologia educacional para o matriciamento dos núcleos de atenção à segurança e à saúde do trabalhador e da trabalhadora da saúde

Abstract

This study focuses on Permanent Health Education for Workers through the development of an educational technology aimed at strengthening the matrix-based support (matriciamento) provided by professionals from the Occupational Health and Safety Care Centers (NASST) of the State Health Department of Rio Grande do Norte (SESAP/RN). Over the past two decades, Occupational Health has become a relevant field of action within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), aiming to intervene in worker illness processes at all levels of governance, ensuring comprehensive care through actions of health promotion, protection, surveillance, and rehabilitation. In 2022, the Occupational Health and Safety Observatory recorded 612.9 thousand occupational accidents in Brazil, 2.5 thousand of which resulted in death among formally employed workers—placing the country fourth worldwide in terms of fatal occupational accidents. Among the most affected are health professionals, revealing that workplaces present multiple health risks that could be minimized or avoided through appropriate protection measures and proper training. The general objective of this study was to develop an educational technology focused on Permanent Health Education for Workers, with an emphasis on supporting matrix-based practices among NASST teams within SESAP/RN. This is a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory study, grounded in the action research methodology as proposed by Michel Thiollent (2011). The study was conducted between November 2024 and April 2025 within the SESAP/RN context.Data collection occurred in three stages: the first involved a workshop for agreement and presentation of the study, with the participation of 55 professionals from NASST and from the State Center for Occupational Health and Safety (NESST), aimed at exploring their understandings of Permanent Health Education (EPS); the second involved individual interviews with 13 participants, seeking to identify professional practices and training needs in the field of workers' health; and the third consisted of a focus group with 10 participants, promoting discussion of the findings based on a technical report and culminating in the development of an action plan for implementing EPS within the NASSTs. Data were organized and analyzed with the support of Atlas.ti software, in accordance with research ethics principles. The interviews revealed three main categories: Understandings and Practices in Workers' Health, Structural Weaknesses and Institutional Obstacles, and Potentialities and Proposals for Permanent Education in Health. In the operative group, the highlighted category was Collective Construction and Strategies for Strengthening Permanent Education in Workers' Health, with recognition of the plan and suggestions for improvement. As technical outputs, a technical-scientific report and an action plan for implementing EPS in NASSTs were developed. It is expected that the study will contribute to the continuous qualification of work processes among NASST teams, promoting concrete, effective, and ongoing matrix-based support in line with the principles of the National Occupational Health Policy.