The Operation of Occupational Therapy in the “Street Clinic”

Abstract

This article is the result of the course conclusion work titled “Bodies of creation: The performance of Occupational Therapy in the street clinic” and presents the contributions of Occupational Therapy in actions in the street clinic. Objectives: The objective of the study was to know and analyze the performance of Occupational Therapy in the street clinic with the professionals and users of this device and as specific objectives sought to identify, describe and differentiate actions in the field of Primary Care in general and in the professional nucleus with the population served. Methods: The study focuses on a qualitative research with an exploratory character through the analysis of five semi - structured interviews conducted in 2017 with occupational therapists in three municipalities in São Paulo state. Results: The interventions of Occupational Therapy in the Street clinics were presented in two groups: I) actions in the field of Basic Attention and II) occupational therapy specific actions. Conclusion: The incorporation of the occupational therapists in the team and the work in loco, allowed the expansion of strategies of care, in addition to curative or preventive actions. The core actions presented themselves as one of the powers of the service, increasing the appropriation of the user in relation to their care. Occupational therapists act mainly by providing encounters, experiencing themselves and the world through activities, in front of the innumerable possibilities that everyday life on the street offers