Assessment of the use of online communities to integrate educational processes development teams: An experience in popular health education

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to present the use of virtual communities in work processes in Popular Education, a field strongly supported by presentiality because of historical social inequalities in Brazil. It presents the assessment of the Virtual Community Work (CVT) used in the Popular Healthcare Education Policy (PNEPS).

Design/methodology/approach

The exploratory research adopted two paths of analysis, one quantitative (using questionnaire) aimed to collect the participants’ perceptions regarding the navigation, tools and features of CVT, and the other qualitative through observation of the interventions in its different spaces, having discourse analysis as the technique for analysis.

Findings

The hands-on nature of Popular Education, revealed in the posts and in the speech of the participants, showed the potential and challenges of the territory and the need for change, both of the professional’s outlook on his or her own work process and working with health in the communities that are, still today, very centered around authoritarian models.

Research limitations/implications

Because the participation was not mandatory, the reduced number of participants was the main limitation of this work.

Practical implications

The health problems specified in the interactions and much discussed in CVT may help the consolidation of the policy as the main practical implication.

Social implications

Contribute to the creation of a network for the exchange of educational experiences in the field of Popular Education.

Originality/value

The innovating character of this work lies in the application of Virtual Community in the field of popular education within the health sector as a strategy for implementation of a national policy.

Citation

Castilho Barilli, E., Freitas Barretto, S., Moura Lima, C. and Antonio Menezes, M. (2014), "Assessment of the use of online communities to integrate educational processes development teams: An experience in popular health education", Interactive Technology and Smart Education, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 270-286. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITSE-09-2014-0029