Child care in the prison context: perceptions of health professionals

Abstract

This is a qualitative study, with an ethnographic approach, conducted with 15 health professionals  from the prison system, through semi-structured  interviews, organized and treated by the software Nvivo 12, and performed content analysis in thematic  analysis mode. The research revealed three thematic categories: Daily care for children in prison;  Maintenance care in child intercurrences; and  Challenges for providing care to children in prison. In  prison, child care becomes a challenge for the health  professional, due to the lack of physical structure,  scarcity of material inputs, an environment of violence and tension that influence the provision of  comprehensive care to children living in the context of maternal prison. Therefore, it is necessary to  implement the National Policy for Child Health Care in the Unified Health System with the development of  actions that favor the improvement of child care in  line with the National Policy for Comprehensive  Health Care of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the  Prison System.