Outside the classroom: Community health education to prevent diseases in South Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

[EN] The objective of this paper was to report the achievements of a workgroup which was focused on outside of classroom activities linked to the social demands of primary health care to improve the learning of diseases among health students in South Bahia, Brazil. The methodology encompassed a pedagogical approach including local diagnostic of health and development of strategy actions of continuing education on health promotion. This has strengthened the development of new teaching resources that favored the learning of the biology of diseases frequently found in these communities. While on the one hand it has improved the quality of information on health in self-care and sexually transmitted diseases, on the other hand it has helped health students develop skills and acquire competencies aligned to the principles of health promotion. The authors suggest that continuing education activities are the best strategies underlying the mechanisms of collective knowledge and the relations between learning and practical action. New approaches on health education span the notions of individual and family hygiene and practices in health, with emphasis on prevention and prophylaxis, which are the objectives of programs health promotion and disease prevention.