Training of health professionals for the provision of comprehensive care in abortion situations in public Primary Health Care in Brazil: challenges and innovative experiences

Abstract

This essay’s objectives are to reflect on challenges in the training of health professionals for comprehensive care in abortion situations in Primary Health Care (PHC) in the Brazilian National Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS) and to bring to debate innovative training initiatives organized by social and institutional actresses/ actors outside of the traditional training apparatus. In the first part, we dialogue with international literature to explore how training challenges are confronted in countries of the Global North and Latin America, where the practice of abortion has been legalized. Next, we discuss the professional training on abortion in Brazil, focusing on traditional spaces (undergraduate, residencies, and post-graduate). We proceed with the presentation and reflection on some innovative experiences for professional training on comprehensive abortion care, organized by a joint of activist organizations, academic groups, health professionals, professional societies, and the services themselves, mapped from the participation of the authors in forums, organizations, research and activist groups, and selected under the criteria of direct approach to professional training on abortion and/or advocacy actions that have clear or potential repercussion on this training. At the end, we summarize a series of aspects that can strengthen these networks of training for comprehensive care of abortion situations with focus on PHC.