COMMUNITY HANDCRAFT GROUPS FOR WOMEN IN HFS AP 2.2/RJ EVALUATION: AN ANALYSIS BY SWOT METHOD

Introduction and Objective: Community women´s groups aims are inclusion and empowerment, enabling establishment of bonds, increase of social support and mental health promotion, being very important to primary mental health care. These are weekly groups with women attending the unit, coordinated by a community health worker helped by a psychologist acting as facilitator. This study analyzes the facilitating or inhibiting external and internal conditions to the implementation and development of these groups in five FHS (Family Health strategy) units in Tijuca / RJ. Methodology: Analytical Study of these groups´ implementation in 5 communities by the SWOT method (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). National Secretariat of Policies for Women supported this intervention. Results and conclusion: Regarding internal environment, the most important strength was the presence of a local woman´s leadership supporting the craft technique learning and promoting their engagement with other community activities. At the same time, we diagnosed weaknesses associated with social isolation and unempowerment, which made it difficult for these women to engage in activities outside the communities. As to the external environment, the biggest threats were associated with difficulty to establish an adequate physical space for their meetings and financial restrictions related to work material. In addition, a good integration and support from the FHS team provided an opportunity to their development. So, upport from primary care teams, especially community workers, including adequate space and material are important factors to group development. The presence of community leaders and engagement in community networks are also associated with better outcomes.