ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to describe changes in self-care to be adopted by users of primary healthcare services in Brazil upon participation in a health education initiative, and to determine their involvement with these changes. A health education initiative was therefore developed with users of primary healthcare services in Brazil, with subjects assessed immediately afterwards and then two to three months apart (by means of a semi-structured questionnaire). Analyzed according to content analysis, reports showed that 31% of participants selected physical activity as a means of improving their health, 28% selected improving food habits, 22.9% improving mental care, 12.6% losing weight, 10.3% healthcare in general, 6.9% drinking less alcohol, 4.6% quitting smoking and 1.15% caring for the environment. After two to three months, 8.62% did not remember which they had selected to improve their health while 22.41% performed the selected initiative and 68.97% remembered their selection without going on to take the actions. Among participants, 77.5% claimed not to have been committed to the actions selected, 17.5% reported not having time and 5% said they suffered from health problems.
Medical Education; Public Health; Self Care; Health Education; Primary Healthcare; Health Promotion
