Ethical dilemmas attributed to the home visit: Perspective of social assistance professionals

Abstract

The home visit (HV) is an intervention instrument that involves situations of violation of rights in contexts of social vulnerability. The objective of this qualitative study was to understand the meanings and ethical dilemmas attributed to the HV as an intervention resource, from the perspective of professionals from the Protection and Specialized Attention to Families and Individuals Service. Based on the Constructivist Grounded Theory, three focus groups were held with 17 professionals. The data, analyzed with the Atlas.ti 8.4 software, showed that the following aspects: the visit is a necessary instrument for psychosocial monitoring, but it generates physical and emotional stress in the professionals; lack of training and preparation of the professional to carry out the visit; and the teams experience ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. Thus, during their practices, professionals are subject to the demands of community and interinstitutional contexts, generating feelings of powerlessness and embarrassment in the face of the obligation of the HV.