Professionals from different areas of knowledge, with an interest in promoting health, human development and society.

Publications

Gehysa Guimaraes Alves
Alice Hirdes
Aline Groff Vivian
Ana Maria Pujol Vieira dos Santos
André Guirland Vieira
Claudio Schubert
Dóris Cristina Gedrat
Eliane Fraga da Silveira
Guilherme Anziliero Arossi
Luiz Carlos Porcello Marrone
Maria Isabel Morgan-Martins
Nádia Teresinha Schroder

• Human development

Study of human development centered on the expansion of well-being and as a process of expansion of individual freedoms that enables people to choose the life they want to have. This includes the social, economic, political and environmental dynamics necessary to ensure a variety of opportunities and the development of individual and group skills that expand the potential for healthy life choices, enhance autonomy, freedom, participation, well-being and citizenship.

• Public Policies, Society and Environment

Study of the complex problems that involve the quality of life in societies, focusing on social inequities, sustainable development, sectoral and interdisciplinary actions aimed at developing healthy public policies. It discusses the environment and society as territories capable of enhancing individual and collective development, pointing to the construction of lifestyles and public policies that promote health, including discussions on ethics, democracy, freedoms and reduction of inequities. It reflects on development seen as a process of expansion of individual freedoms, considering that its denial is a deficiency of the political system, which should take into account the civil rights and real opportunities of populations.

•  Language and communication in social contexts
•  Promotion and Prevention in Mental Health
•  Health Promotion and Surveillance
•  Quality of life and healthy environments
•  Adult health vulnerabilities

Research projects

The integrative projects of the Masters Course in Health Promotion, Human Development and Society

RESEARCH LINE : HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION ABOUT HEALTH

Abstract: Health communication processes have been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as determinants of quality and safety in the provision of care to users of health services. The role of communication in errors and adverse events is evident. Communication and the development of communication skills by health technicians and users is, however, a complex phenomenon. In addition to communication skills, it involves the role of power relations, both within institutions and within different social and cultural groups. As a culture, communication still involves different conceptions of the body, health and disease, relating to different social groups. In this case, the search for an educational and communicational reference common to technicians and users is fundamental. Finally, intercultural communication on health also involves an ethical dimension, relating to a project for a democratic society that includes accessibility, quality, equity, human rights and citizenship in health. This research investigates the field of communication applied to health, using qualitative and quantitative methodological resources in order to account for the complexity of the aforementioned object of study.

Coordination: Honor de Almeida Neto

AGING, ASSOCIATED FACTORS AND VULNERABILITY

Abstract: The age pyramid of the Brazilian population has been undergoing an inversion. Falls in birth rates associated with longer life expectancy lead to a change in the percentage of elderly people in Brazil. This change in the population profile has already been described in several European countries, and made them take measures to better serve their population in different areas, from health to socioeconomic aspects. In Brazil, few studies assess the prevalence and particularities of vulnerability in the elderly in Brazil. Healthy aging is a challenge that can be influenced by numerous factors (many of them related to choices made during adulthood). Assessing the factors that made an elderly individual into a vulnerable person can be a strategy that helps in decision-making in public health strategies. The VES-13, for example, is a widely used instrument to track the risk of frailty in the elderly (its application being recommended by the Ministry of Health in the Elderly Health Handbook). This study maps the prevalence of vulnerability in different regions of Brazil taking into account its particularities; in addition to mapping which factors are most related to vulnerability in the elderly population in Brazil.

Coordination: Luiz Carlos Porcello Marrone

HAPPINESS, WORK AND HEALTH PROMOTION

Abstract: Knowledge on topics such as the perception of happiness and work from the perspective of health promotion is an important predictor of quality of life and points to the internal experience of each individual. The research aims to understand the perception and social representation of happiness and work of subjects from different population groups and its influence on the life of relationships and on the human and social development of these individuals. This study investigates how the feeling of happiness interferes in family, social and work life. Data are analyzed using thematic content analysis technique and social representation analysis using the central core theory. The better perception of workers' happiness and health will also improve the quality of services provided to the population and reduce absenteeism rates.

Coordination: Doris Cristina Gedrat

IDENTITY, TOLERANCE AND EMANCIPATION

Abstract: The resignification of life history is provided by the construction of meaningful and coherent autobiographical narratives. An autobiographical production implies the narrative reconstruction of past events and its own historical process. This project studies the life trajectory of adults in their relationship with identity, tolerance, discrimination and emancipation. It is part of the field of psychological narratives, which foresees the reorganization of history itself as a fundamental element in the production of resilience and, therefore, as a protective factor in relation to situations of vulnerability. This research is organized in the field of Action Research, which foresees the crossing of research and intervention, following the research model in Life Stories. The research is developed from the construction of the life stories of the selected population group. In addition to "Tell your story", where participants narrate their life trajectories, it is possible to search for mnemonic traces of the participants' life history, emphasizing memories that interfered in their lives. A public testimony to others and to the new generation is requested, in order to leave a mark in the memory so that what happened is remembered, not forgotten and not repeated. This intervention strategy produces reflexes and new positions in relation to the difficulties faced by the group.

Coordination: André Guirland Vieira

PROMOTION OF MATERNAL-INFANT, CHILD AND ADOLESCENT HEALTH

Abstract: The promotion of maternal and child health and early childhood is highlighted due to the potential for prevention that actions in this area have. With this study, it is possible to implement systematic interdisciplinary actions to promote maternal and child health for pregnant and postpartum women, babies and children with their families. Designed as an integrated project with cross-sectional studies, the assessment instruments investigate group interventions to monitor the psychological aspects and emotional factors involved in the mother-infant relationship, maternal representations of the baby during pregnancy, maternal-fetal attachment, parental attachment, anxiety, depression, in addition to common mental disorders in this population. Furthermore, in childhood, especially the school and socialization aspects reflect a previous interaction of the child in their environment. Such phenomena also affect the child's mental health and are investigated from the perspective of the different impacts of children's experiences in the family and school context. In adolescence, it is eminent to investigate conflicting issues and plan interventions that promote health, which become preventive throughout the life cycle, in different contexts in which this population is inserted, ranging from sexuality, the transition to parenthood, consolidation of identity even the socioeconomic aspects and those linked to the adolescents' education.

Coordination: Aline Groff Vivian

QUALITY OF LIFE IN HEALTH PROMOTION

Abstract: The concept of quality of life is very extensive. There are multiple factors that determine the quality of life of people and communities, which imply the understanding of individual and collective experiences, knowledge and values. It is not limited to physical health, it also includes the psychological state, social relationships, the level of independence, and even its relationship with the environment. Analyzing these factors can help impact the overall health of the individual and specific populations. This project aims to study the quality of life addressing physical and mental health in different contexts such as at work, at school, in vulnerable groups and among the elderly. For data collection, both quantitative instruments and qualitative methods are being used.

Coordination: Ana Maria Pujol Vieira dos Santos

WOMEN'S HEALTH IN DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE BIOLOGICAL CYCLE

Abstract: The Women's Health Policy created in 2004 includes educational, preventive, diagnostic, treatment and recovery actions, encompassing assistance to women in all its phases, in addition to other needs identified, based on the profile of the analyzed female population. In this way, it contemplates integrality, a constitutional principle defended as a prerogative of the humanization of health care, valuing the articulation between preventive and assistance activities. In order to seek multidisciplinary actions in health services and build a humanized and respectful relationship with users, this research proposes to know the perception of physical and mental health, vulnerability and quality of life of women in different phases of the biological cycle ( adolescence, youth, adulthood, climacteric/menopause and old age), with instruments already validated, applied in different populations. Disorders related to physical and emotional changes are also identified, and pointed  at as causes to changes in relationships; the perception of body size and shape; level of physical activity; neurotic symptoms; common mental disorders (CMD); non-psychotic symptoms such as insomnia, fatigue, irritability, forgetfulness, difficult concentrating and somatic complaints; depression self-assessment; severity of anxiety and depression symptoms and vulnerability, based on the assessment of aspects: age, self-perception of health, presence of physical limitations and disabilities.

Coordination: Maria Isabel Morgan Martins

MENTAL HEALTH AND ITS ASPECTS

Abstract: With a view to promoting and preventing mental health in the human life cycle, the goals of the Global Mental Health Plan 2013-2020 of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Unified Health System (SUS) are taken into account . In this sense, the surveys are aligned with the cross-cutting principles of universal access and equity, integrality, human rights, life course approaches and intersectoral approach. They address the central issue listed by the WHO and other international organizations on how mental health can be included in Primary Health Care. It is in line with the objective of developing human resources in higher education for the construction of care in specialized services and in not specialized ones. The surveys also evaluate new methodologies for the inclusion of mental health in general health services, as well as research on services and management processes and the validation of instruments in the mental health area, with a view to creating resources to support the formulation of public policies.

Coordination: Guilherme Anziliero Arossi

RESEARCH LINE:  PUBLIC POLICIES, SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT

HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS AND LIFE HABITS

Abstract: The understanding of health is not restricted to more immediate human, genetic and biological and environmental factors, it is intrinsically related to social, economic, political and cultural determinants in a broader way. The concepts of space and territory make it possible to shift the focus of attention, which was previously centered on the disease, to the social determinants of health conditions. The spatial cutout can conform territorial profiles that reveal the conditions of access to health services, exposure to risk factors and socio-spatial exclusion. Reflection is necessary, considering quality of life as something important to Society; the concept and form of assessment need to be discussed and revised, considering the timeline and individual demands, which are  always interrelated with public health management . The project encompasses studies on different social groups from different territories in the country, and their relationship with the socio-environmental characteristics of the regions of origin, seeking to meet the needs of economic, social and environmental development nationwide.

Coordination: Jussara Alves Pinheiro Sommer

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

Abstract: The implementation of Primary Health Care (PHC) has represented, in recent years, one of the most notable advances of the Unified Health System (SUS) as a public policy and universal health system in our country. The rearrangement of the health system, coordinated and ordered by the PHC, goes beyond the concept of selective care and the simple level of care, as it is based on the premise that it is an integral part of the Health Care Network (RAS). It performs the main functions of first contact, longitudinality, integrality, coordination, family orientation, community orientation and cultural competence, under its ascribed population. PHC is a care model that contains a set of individual and collective health actions that involve various aspects such as: promotion, prevention, protection, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, harm reduction, palliative care and health surveillance. It is developed through integrated care practices and qualified management  developed by multidisciplinary teams for the population in their assigned territory.

Coordination: Alice Hirdes

HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOL AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS

Abstract: The Regional Initiative for the Implementation of Health Promoting Schools has been the strategy adopted by PAHO and WHO to strengthen Health Promotion in the school context. It is based on three principles: 1) health education with a comprehensive approach, 2) creation of healthy physical and psychosocial environments, and 3) provision of health services, healthy eating and active living. These principles propose a participatory school model, which integrates its members in decision-making and execucion, as well as in the training of individuals to exercise greater control over their health and the aspects that can affect it, reducing the factors that can result in risk and favoring those who are protective and healthy. Young people should be guided, from an early age, to promote health, through an open dialogue that allows their expression and clarification. The school presents itself as an excellent place to promote health among children and adolescents, offering the opportunity to educate through the construction of different types of knowledge. It is a unique space for socialization, training and information. This study analyzes the vulnerability of adolescents in relation to socio-environmental conditions and their associated health factors.

Coordination: Jussara Alves Pinheiro Sommer

PUBLIC POLICIES DIRECTED TO HEALTH PROMOTION

Abstract: The country needs to advance in the fight against inequalities and in effective social justice. For this, fundamental and special human rights are those inherent to the human condition, which guarantee life with dignity, so that it can be lived with full enjoyment of its basic rights, safeguarding a healthy quality of life. In addition, guaranteeing the population's access to quality services, with equity and in a timely manner to meet human needs, improving programs, public policies, as well as their plans and projects. This study investigates public policies involving education, housing, leisure, work, food, gender, protection of childhood and adolescence, relating them to the promotion of health and quality of life as a set of strategies and forms in individual and collective scope with responsibilities for the three federated entities, evaluating elements of a theoretical, cultural and technical nature that are expressed in the most varied spaces of work organization and health practices. There is a need to analyze the behavioral focus, which is expressed in actions aimed at transforming habits and lifestyles, pointing out risk factors and transferring responsibility to the individual. It is also essential to consider the leading role of general determinants of living and health conditions being directly related to individual and collective quality of life.

Coordination: Letícia Thomasi Jahnke Botton

WORKER'S HEALTH AND HEALTH PROMOTION

Abstract: Understanding the relationship between work and the health/disease process has been referenced in the field of knowledge that deals with workers' health. Humanity's modes of productive development and forms of insertion into the world of work, as well as forms of illness, are analyzed. It is essential to analyze the actions of surveillance of the existing risks in the environments and working conditions, the health and organization problems and the provision of assistance to workers, which occur through multiprofessional, interdisciplinary and intersectoral articulation. In addition, there is a need to also consider the principles of health promotion: holistic conception, intersectoriality, empowerment, social participation, equity, multi-strategic actions and sustainability in search of improving the quality of life of workers.

Coordination: Nádia Teresinha Schröder

SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY

Abstract: High levels of poverty, social exclusion and environmental degradation have characterized Brazilian urbanization with the occurrence of natural and social imbalances that impact the health of populations. Neglected diseases are related to relevant morbidity and mortality. The sequelae of these diseases are responsible for a high loss of healthy years of life that impact public health and represent a significant economic loss. Health research has been supported by geotechnologies, which constitute a set of technologies for collecting, processing, analyzing and geographically referenced information. The relevance of the research is to spatialize health, socioeconomic and environmental indicators, establishing vulnerability indexes of populations in endemic areas for neglected diseases.

Coordination: Eliane Fraga da Silveira

Train human resources, with competence and scientific autonomy, to promote equity and dignity for all people, with respect for cultural differences and the environment, through health promotion actions.

Promote and carry out research in the interdisciplinary area, which seeks to meet the needs of economic, social and environmental development, at the national level and, in this way, qualify human resources in order to develop an ethical and critical attitude towards the complex nature of the problems with which it will confront, becoming a transforming agent of society and producer of knowledge.

The complete Academic Master's course involves:

•  Completion of mandatory and elective courses;
•  Qualification exam at 18 months of the course;
•  Preparation and execution of a research project under the guidance of a PhD professor;
•  Writing and defending a master's thesis.

Duration of the Masters: 4 semesters

Human Development and Society.

Ulbra's Academic Master's Degree in Health Promotion, Human Development and Society was recommended by CAPES on March 1, 2018, according to official letter 61/2018-CECOL/GAB/PR/CAPES.