Weaving care networks

health actions with the territory in focus

Abstract

Introduction: The university extension connects academic knowledge to society’s needs. Through the discipline Public Health I, medical students develop an understanding of the different social realities and promote collective actions aimed at health promotion and  disease prevention in order to improve the population's quality of life. Objectives: To recognize the territory of a central region of Belo Horizonte, identify its weaknesses, needs, and potentialities in order to develop actions aimed at the local population - mainly homeless people. Experience Report: Health promotion actions were carried out by medical students, based on the recognition of the territory and according to the population profile of the region. Questionnaires were applied using the rapid estimation methodology to recognize the territory, as well as visits to social assistance facilities that welcome people in vulnerable situations aimed at caring for diverse demands and promoting the exchange of experiences in discussion groups at the Academia da Cidade. The actions counted on the participation of 106 individuals and were essential for the dissemination of health-related information to the target audience, as well as enabling students to have direct contact with the community and its health demands. Final considerations: The development of the work allowed, through active methodologies, a greater learning of the target audience regarding aspects of individual and collective health. At the same time, the actions enabled the students to deepen fundamental skills for the critical and humanized practice of medicine in their future profession.