UNIVERSALITY, EQUITY AND INTEGRATION IN BASIC HEALTHCARE AS EXPERIENCED BY MEDICAL STUDENTS AT THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF AMAPÁ (UNIFAP)

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Since healthcare reforms which were passed in to the constitution in 1988, the creation of Basic Health Units (BHUs) and, more recently, the formation of Family Health Teams (FHT), it has become possible to treat citizens outside of hospital settings. Healthcare in Brazil has moved on to disease prevention, with health professionals attending to healthcare needs within communities and neighbourhoods, especially in areas of greatest need, with a focus on understanding the patient as a whole and not solely their pathology. Mindful of these changes, here we sought to characterize the perceptions of undergraduate medical students at UNIFAP, as related to the principles and directives of the Unified Health System (UHS), within the module “Interactive teaching and community service” (IESC). METHODOLOGY: We conducted a descriptive data collection exercise in which twenty-eight first to fourth year medical students at UNIFAP described their experiences in the practical activities of IESC. These descriptions were collected between February and December of 2015 in Macapá, Amapá, Brazil. The practical activities were realised in the presence of, and accompanied by, local family health teams. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In analysing the responses obtained from the student descriptions we were able to identify the importance of the UHS principles in the lives of the patient population. Of the students who participated, 100% understood that home visits are fundamental in undergraduate training. Furthermore, taken together, better access to services offered by UHS, accompanying patients throughout their clinical cases and a closer doctor-patient relationship, contributed to a more human medical service.