Between Doing and Feeling: The Voice of Professionals from a General Hospital for a Guide to Good Practices in Mental Health
General hospital; Mental health beds; National Mental Health Policy; Care
practices; Multidisciplinary team; Humanization of Care.
The Brazilian Psychiatric Reform instituted a new model of mental health
care, based on deinstitutionalization, care in freedom, and comprehensive care, incorporating
mental health beds in general hospitals as strategic devices of the Psychosocial Care Network
(RAPS). Despite regulatory advances, the implementation and consolidation of these beds in
general hospitals is still a work in progress, affected by different institutional conditions and
professional practices in everyday hospital life. Objective: To analyze the perceptions of
professionals regarding the care provided in mental health beds in a general hospital in the
city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. Method: This is a qualitative, exploratory, and
descriptive study conducted in a general hospital in the city of Natal, RN. The study
participants will be health and support professionals who work directly in the care of patients
admitted to mental health beds, selected by intentional sampling. Data collection will be
carried out through individual semi-structured interviews, and data processing will be
performed using the content analysis proposed by Bardin. Expected results: We expect to
identify the potential and challenges of mental health care in the hospital setting, supporting
the development of educational technology, materialized in a guide to good practices in
mental health, in digital and physical formats, aimed at implementing the recommendations
of the National Mental Health Policy, improving the quality of care, strengthening humanized
practices, and consolidating mental health beds in general hospitals.