Percepção acerca de resíduos de serviços de saúde na formação acadêmica do fisioterapeuta na Universidade Católica do Salvador-BA

Abstract

Health professionals should be concerned with the waste generated by their activities, and develop specific skills and abilities from the undergraduate level, requiring them to be consciously positioned and available to collaborate in the search for solutions. The present study aimed to evaluate the perceptions and knowledge of the students of the physical therapy course about health service residues (SSR) and their appropriate management stages. This is a descriptive, qualitative and quantitative exploratory study conducted with students of the physiotherapy course of the Catholic University of Salvador, located in Salvador, Bahia. A total of 53 students enrolled in the morning and evening physiotherapy course were interviewed. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire with closed questions and a semi-structured interview recorded on the RSS and its management stages. For the statistical analysis, the Bardin content analysis for the qualitative questions and the Epi Info 6.04 Software were used to describe the absolute frequencies and percentages of the quantitative questions. The values were expressed, by means of frequencies, in the form of graphs and tables. As results found: 81.1% of the students are female; 67.9% are in the age group of 21 to 25 years; 62.3% do not know the RSS ranking; 52.8% are aware of the risk potential of RSS, although 62.3% are not aware of segregation. It concludes with the study the ignorance of a great part of the students of the physiotherapy course on the RSS and its stages of proper management. Thus reflecting the need for teaching methodologies to seek ways to sensitize future physiotherapists about the RSS, so that they develop a broader understanding of environmental issues with a view to sustainability, so it is necessary to train qualified and sensitized health professionals to the importance of proper management of these wastes, with a sense of responsibility and ethical commitment to the health of society and the environment.