Stella barros’ contributions to nursing in brazil: Life story and political activism

Abstract

Objective: to examine the life story of Stella Barros and her contributions to Brazilian nursing. Method: this historical, biographical life-history type study, framed by the philosophy of Foucault, used the semi-structured interview technique. The oral history was organized and tabulated using NVivo 10 software. Data were treated by content analysis, from which five categories emerged. Results: first, the teacher in question was considered an icon nationally and internationally, and her trajectory bears the imprint of the political activism present at several stages of her life. Conclusion: studies that address contributions by militant nurses are important in prompting discussion of the problems of alienation and lack of identity, which are essential to the endeavor to gain recognition for the profession and its value.