EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES IN HEALTH: CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES FOR CRITICAL AND HUMANIZED TRAINING TODAY

Abstract

Introduction: Health education plays a fundamental role in improving health systems and training professionals capable of responding to contemporary social, epidemiological, and ethical demands. Objective: To discuss the main educational perspectives in health, highlighting their foundations, challenges, and contributions to the critical and humanized training of professionals in the field. Methodology: A narrative and integrative bibliographic review was conducted using national and international databases (SciELO, LILACS, PubMed, BVS, and Google Scholar). Studies published in the last ten years, in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, that addressed educational perspectives in health were included. Results and Discussion: Critical training in health constitutes a structuring axis for the development of reflective professionals, committed to equity and capable of understanding the social determinants of the health-disease process. Active methodologies emerge as a central category by favoring student protagonism, the integration between theory and practice, and the development of clinical reasoning and teamwork. Continuing education in health stands out as a fundamental strategy for the continuous qualification of workers, promoting transformations in work processes and strengthening the articulation between teaching, service, and community. The categories of humanization and ethics are revealed to be inseparable in health training, contributing to responsible, empathetic, and person-centered professional practices, with a direct impact on the quality of care and the safety of care. Conclusion: Educational perspectives in health reinforce the need for critical, continuous training committed to social reality and the principles of comprehensive care.