Educational practice with women in the community: prevention of pregnancy in adolescence

Abstract

In educational practice in health, the subjects' knowledges and contexts are valued, supporting necessary changes. This study aims to report the experience of educational practices undertaken with 11 women of a community in Fortaleza, in the Brazilian state of Ceará, using Community-Based Participatory Research to investigate, identify and study the health problems which are important for that community. The participants showed that the prevention of pregnancy in adolescence was a priority in the community. Thus, the causes of this occurrence were reflected upon and analyzed, and actions which could reduce this were planned and undertaken. A film was made for adolescents, focusing on pregnancy in adolescence, demonstrating the dramas and difficulties experienced by the adolescents and their families. The study shows the potential which groups have for community mobilization and confrontation of the problems, as, when involved in the educational processes, they are able to provoke individual and collective changes, increase their autonomy and exercise their citizenship.