PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND INTERVENTION IN PUBLIC HEALTH: PERCEPTIONS BY PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

This article analyzes Physical Education professionals’ perceptions about their training processes and the effects on their performance on public health work in Goiânia, Brazil. We conducted interviews with nine workers from four institutions of the Municipal Health Department. The material collected was examined under content analysis with support from Webqda software. Rigorous data systematization was conducted under the theoretical and empirical saturation technique. Results showed that professionals see their initial training as traditional and technical, more focused on the field of sports initiation, physical activity, exercise, school/didactics and fitness centers rather than on the needs of public health services, thus creating weakness in that dimension of professional intervention.