Comparison of humanization concepts and practices between health professionals having undergone hospitalization and others not having done so

Abstract

Introduction: Humanizing actions are nowadays a factor of life quality improvement for patients. Objective: To compare the humanization concepts and practices between two health professional groups, where one group has gone through personal hospitalization while the other has not. The aim is to comprehend their understanding of humanization care, the meaning of the values and principles that guide their professional practices, and their life experience and changes in conduct, in order to perceive the fundamentals of humanization. Methods: A questionnaire containing objective and open questions based on area literature were applied in 36 professionals of Santa Casa de Vinhedo on July 2008. Results: The predominance of humanizing care was observed on both groups with a lower percentage of these behaviors in the group without hospitalization experience. Conclusion: It had become clear that health professionals who had passed by the experience of been patients are more human and aware of patients' needs, due to the changes on concepts and humanization practices.