Nursing undergraduates’ understanding of health care networks

Abstract

Objective: to examine undergraduate nursing students’ understanding of Health Care Networks (HCNs). Method: in this exploratory, qualitative descriptive study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 Nursing students at a federal University in southern Brazil between August and September 2018. Results: the interviews revealed that the students’ knowledge related to the HCNs’ concept and purpose, beyond the communication weaknesses and users’ lack knowledge as obstacles to effective HCNs, the difficulty in seeing nurses’ roles in the various network services, and perceived fragmentation in the training process. Conclusion: the study contributed to discussion of inclusion of students in HCRs, with a view to meeting the educational requirements designed to favor implementation of the national health system (SUS) and the HCNs.