Critical incidents in the teaching-learning process in diabetes in the perspective of a multiprofessional health team

Abstract

This descriptive and cross-sectional study aimed to identify factors that interfere either positively or negatively in diabetes patients’ teaching-learning process, from the perspective of the multidisciplinary health team. It was carried out at a university research and community service center in the interior of São Paulo State, Brazil in 2007. Eleven subjects participated, who are members of the center’s multidisciplinary team. The critical incident technique was used for data collection, through the application of a form. The results indicated 15 critical incidents, eight with positive and 11 with negative references. The factors the health professionals most valued in diabetes education were: interaction among patients in the group, interaction in the multiprofessional health team and welcoming by the team. The least valued factors included interaction in the multidisciplinary health team, group configuration and professionals’ difficulty to deal with adverse situations in the group. The collected data reveal the need for investments by health education institutions, in order to train professionals for working with groups, discussing the factors that exert positive and negative effects on diabetes education.