Abstract:

Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Marco de Canaveses (SCMMC) is a Social Health Institution that, over the past few years, has developed programs in social support and health, focused on proximity and education to achieve sustainable health for formal and informal caregivers living in rural areas. Promoting health literacy has been pointed as a fundamental tool for the individual’s quality of life, for preventing disease and therefore contributing to cost reduction associated with behavioral decisions harmful to health.

The technology focused in the most common health problems, led to the development of an intervention program designed and built, in an accessible format, to the whole community. For caregivers, these methodologies that are focused on the people and their needs make them more aware and interested people. Another factor to highlight is the integrated, inclusive and multidisciplinary approach designed to contribute to the increase of health literacy in all areas, adjusted to the needs of people and organizations.

Focused on the perspective of developing and deepening knowledge necessary for the practice of care, SCMMC promoted the production and availability of a set of educational films, developed within the different areas of the multidisciplinary team (nursing, pharmacy, nutrition, psychology, social work, physiotherapy and occupacional therapy), like "First aid guide for the treatment of traumatic wounds"; "Care for the dependent person for diaper placement"; "Hand washing, medicines registration and mask use"; "Nutrition in the elderly - nutritional and food strategies for the elderly"; "Self-care strategies", "Training the mind and the body"; "Social responses in Marco de Canaveses"; "Social support"; "Positioning in dorsal decubitus" and "Using a gait assistive device".

The challenge of making rural communities richer in knowledge and information technologies allows an expanded awareness to access, analyze and determine the relevance and quality of information, which will not only bring benefits to the individual, community and organizations, but also to the world. Only with an integrated, inclusive and multidisciplinary approach it is possible to innovate in the promotion of knowledge, acquisition of skills and achievement of education for sustainability. (This program obtained funding for its implementation from SCMMC and Fidelidade Comunidade Awards, BPI "La Caixa" Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation).

Keywords:

Programs in social support and health, sustainable health, education for sustainability, formal and informal caregivers.