Occupational Therapy in Primary Care: the construction of a practice

Abstract

This article presents a practice placement experience in Primary Care within the Occupational Therapy degree course at Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, located in Salvador, Brazil. The practice in a healthcare center, which began in 2008, was the result of teaching, research and extension activities developed by the research group "Livelihoods and Urban Territories" and constituted a field of study and practice regarding people with disabilities in their own environment. The trainees evaluated and followed the people of a micro-area identified by the research, as well as planned actions to be carried out at home and within the community. The experience provided better teaching-service integration as it was supported by a practice which took into account the limits and possibilities of both the people with disabilities and the healthcare center. Furthermore, it changed the way students perceived and acted in a given territory.