Attitudes, knowledge and skills of nurses in the Xingu Indigenous Park

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the attitudes, knowledge and skills that make up the professional competencies of nurses working in indigenous territories. Method: this is an exploratory-descriptive study with a qualitative approach, conducted with nurses working in the Xingu Indigenous Park in 2016. Data were obtained in semi-structured interviews and treated according to the thematic-categorical analysis method. Results: the nurse’s performance in the Xingu Indigenous Park has a multifaceted character, being defined by the territory’s interculturality and specificities and by how the service is organized. Technical skills, concepts from anthropology and attitudes that facilitate a respectful dialogue with cultural difference are required for a professional to act in this context. Final considerations: the performance of health professionals in indigenous territories requires specificities associated with the acquisition of new knowledge, attitudes and skills geared to the intercultural dimension of the work developed.

Keywords

• Nursing
• Work
• Health Services, Indigenous
• Professional Competence
• Primary Health Care