Maria Cecília Puntel de Almeida: construtora de pontes entre Enfermagem e a Saúde Coletiva brasileira

Abstract

Professor Maria Cecília Puntel de Almeida (1944-2009) built a professional and academic career of which the main feature was her attempt to create and strengthen the interface between Nursing and Public Health in Brazil. From the beginning of her career she recognized this connection and understood the complexity of health problems and peoples' needs when seeking care. Her commitment took the form of both scientific output and also her contributions to the various fields in which she worked. As well as her contribution to the concept of the work process of nursing, she contributed to thinking on health practices and multi-professional training in the construction of a differentiated body of knowledge, which she approached from the perspective of the struggle for democracy in health and understanding of this as a right of citizenship.

Contributions of Public Health to nursing practice

“…Nursing, as a science and practice that finds its centrality in human care, must commit itself to strengthening its interface with Public Health, a fact that would allow it to advance in understanding the complexity of health problems and the demands and needs of SUS users in search of care. These are bridges to be built and reinforced, especially in the professional training and management of health work (20) . Considering that Public Health brings together disciplines such as Epidemiology, health planning and the social sciences in health, among others, constituting a complex area of knowledge (17) , it is understood that the unique affiliation of Public Health to Epidemiology constitutes a restricted understanding of the field.…”

Crise e enfermagem na atenção primária: notas da prática social pelo materialismo histórico dialético

“…No campo da saúde coletiva e medicina social latino-americana, importantes debates sobre o trabalho em saúde despontaram nas décadas de 1970/1980, contexto da crise econômica e política do regime militar [9][10][11][12][13]16,17 . As principais questões levantadas na enfermagem brasileira eram o saber-fazer da profissão e sua inserção no mercado de trabalho em saúde, a crítica à divisão técnica e social do trabalho e o papel das escolas de enfermagem na formação 18 .…”

Work and practices of nursing in Primary Health Care in the state of Paraíba – Brazil: professional profile and care practices in the care dimension

“…In nursing, the work process has its pioneering spirit in the studies of Cecília Puntel de Almeida; Her work 'Nursing knowledge and its practical dimension' constitutes a milestone for Brazilian nursing. Adopting the Marxist framework of work, the author analyzed nursing as a social practice and part of the process of division of labor in health, articulated with other practices in the way of organization of the capitalist society 4, 7 .…”