Occupational health

an experience in a dentistry undergraduate program

Abstract

Occupational health is an essential area in human life and stands among the priority areas of work in Public Health. The National Curriculum Guidelines approach this theme in Public Health modules, as happens with Dentistry undergraduate programs. This report aims to describe the experience of applying a pedagogical strategy on the theme of occupational health in the dentistry undergraduate program of a university in Northeastern Brazil. It is characterized as an experience report based on activities conducted in small groups of students during practical classes, by professors of the Community Oral Health module. All practical activities are supervised by the professor and evaluated according to previously established criteria, culminating in an assigned production, which results in the grading. The first practical class consists in interviewing a worker and taking their occupational history with the intent of reflecting on their work processes and working environment. The second practical class consists in a presentation of the risk map as a product of the occupational history, followed by group discussion mediated by the professors. In this way, the activities in the Community Oral Health IV module addressing “occupational health” use active and dynamic methodologies, thus contributing to the students’ learning on this theme, which is relevant to current labor issues in the country.