Public health training in public institutions’ speech-language-hearing programs in Northeastern Brazil: a curricular framework study

Abstract

Purpose To describe the characteristics of the initial public health training for speech-language-hearing therapists in Northeastern Brazil. Methods The research was based on the curricular framework of public higher education institutions in the Northeast. The analysis approached each institution’s general speech-language-hearing program data (state where it is located, total course load, and most recent curricular framework reformulation) and specific data on public health courses (their individual course load, the term when it is offered, syllabus content, whether it was theoretical, practical, both, or internship, and whether it was required or elective). Results The data show that eight public higher education institutions in the Northeast offer speech-language-hearing programs, whose pedagogical frameworks date from 2009 to 2021. The total course load of those related to public health ranges from 7.5% to 20.5% of the total program among those analyzed. Most courses were elective, exclusively theoretical, and were offered in the first half of the program. Conclusion The initial public health training for speech-language-hearing therapists in public higher education institutions in the Northeast still seems to be based on traditional practices. These create a distance between students, public health, and practices that meet the principles of Health Unic System (in Portuguese - Sistema Único de Saúde) and the population’s real needs, especially in primary healthcare