Proceedings of the 8th World Conference on Qualitative Research

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges to institutions responsible for training healthcare professionals worldwide. Owing to the pandemic implications, notably social distancing, institutions were compelled to adapt for online courses. Despite the availability of these courses, there remains an information gap concerning their impact on the development of necessary competencies for professional practice. Goals and Methods: Qualitative study conducted in a South Brazilian state in 2021. The aim was to analyse the perceptions of managerial professionals regarding the effects of an online course designed to enhance competencies in public health. Data were collected from the course's virtual platform, which included responses to a post-completion question presented to the professionals: "What routine tasks have you found to be modified due to your participation in the course?" Text corpus data analysis was carried out employing Descending Hierarchical Classification with the assistance of the IRAMUTEQ® software. This analysis was based on simple text segments (SST). SSTs were categorised based on their most frequently used vocabulary and words displaying significant associations (p<0.001). Subsequently, the software generated a dendrogram illustrating the hierarchical scheme of classes and their relationships. Results: 286 responses were processed, with a 76.3% utilisation rate of SSTs, resulting in a dendrogram with four distinct classes. The analysis revealed modifications in the areas: Execution of everyday work tasks; Enhanced understanding of the workings of the Brazilian Health System; Improved coordination among departments for the development of public health initiatives; Enhanced support and guidance for health surveillance actions. Relationships among these classes were observed between the first and second classes and between the third and fourth classes. Conclusion: The IRAMUTEQ® software significantly facilitated the processing and analysis of a large amount of qualitative data. The findings indicated changes in managers' professional practices, which positively impacted the development of competencies in public health.