Labirintos da infância

: contextos de intervenção em crianças e jovens em risco : cuidados de saúde primários

Abstract

Every child has the right to grow in safety and with protection, as well as the right to live a violence free life. However, world statistics reveal an alarming portrait where millions of children are victims of physical, sexual and emotional violence. Child violence and maltreatment represent, therefore, a serious problem at a global scope, with a direct impact on the physical and mental health, on the well-being and on the development of any child or adolescent, and, as a consequence, an impact on the society in general. In Portugal, alongside with international progress, many fields have extended their knowledge in a way to facilitate an action at the level of prevention, detection and intervention in situations of maltreatment. Maltreatment and negligence constitute a multifaceted reality, where an intervention by the health services is part of a responsibility shared by everyone in the community. This paper describes a project in the field of promotion and protection of children’s rights, executed in the Support Center for Children and Adolescents at risk (NACJR), part of the group of health centers of Oeiras, where the internship took place. The internship where the project was developed was divided into two phases: module I and II. In the first module a diagnose of the situation was achieved, according to the methodology of planning in health. The diagnose was achieved by evaluating the necessities, felt by the health Professional, in the interaction between the NACJR and the functional units and in the process of identifying maltreatment situations. The results obtained prove the importance of a bilateral communication throughout the whole process between the units and the NACJR. These results reinforced the relevance of elaborating a project, later named “Childhood Labyrinth – contexts of intervention in children and adolescents at risk”, on the second module. This project aims to contribute to the creation of a more efficient response to the specific necessities identified by the professionals in module I, enabling an improved and on time intervention on the promotion and protection of children and adolescents at risk at the level of primary health care.

Date of Award	Oct 2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa