Residencies in health: analysis of a state policy for training professionals for the SUS

Abstract

Health residencies constitute an important State strategy in regulating the training of professionals for  the Unified Health System (SUS) within the scope of  work management and health education policy. An  investigation was carried out to analyze how the  residency policy in the professional health area has  been implemented in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil,  from 2010 to 2021, in terms of management, characteristics of residency programs, and resources  invested. The work is a social research, of the case study type and mixed methods approach, with  documental research and government data, which  used the Policy Cycle Approach as a theoretical-analytical framework. We developed thematic content  analysis based on what was collected, on theory and  on the researchers’ perspective, identifying the  categories: policy actors and governance; expansion  of training and funding; priority thematic areas;  training in multiprofessional health residencies. We  identified management experiences with the  participation of different local actors, incremental  investment in residency grants, and expansion of  multiprofessional residencies in health. The challenge  of implementing a health training policy remains,  which, based on in-service education, acts as a driving force to advance the SUS.