Follow-up of premature newborns in Primary Care

Abstract

Introduction: Prematurity is a public health problem that currently affects about 10% of children born in the country. Primary care health teams play a fundamental role in the monitoring of premature newborns, providing comprehensive assistance and differentiated care to these babies. Objectives: To know the perception of nursing professionals who work in primary care (PHC) regarding the care of premature newborns discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional, exploratory and descriptive study, with a qualitative approach.

Results and discussions: Data collection was carried out with nurses working in Primary Care Units in 37 municipalities in the interior of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), whose estimated population, according to the 2010 IBGE Census, is 313,453 inhabitants. After data collection, the answers were analyzed according to Bardin's Content Analysis (2016), and thematic categories were constructed. The aim of this study is to learn about how premature newborns are followed up in primary care and to identify the difficulties faced by professionals in caring for this population. Conclusion: As benefits of this research, it is understood the importance of discovering the difficulties faced by nursing professionals in the care of premature newborns in Primary Care, so that it can contribute to the improvement and perception of the problems faced by this professional class.