Evaluating the experience of training through videoconferences in primary care.

Introduction: The technological innovations that are a part of organizational realities allow for new possibilities in social processes. In Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the municipality established a system of training through videoconferences in primary care connecting professors and professionals from primary care units to discuss assistance problems in medicine, nursing, and dentistry.

Objective: An evaluation of the professionals' perception regarding the system of training through videoconferences in primary care.

Methods: The study involved 148 basic health units in the city of Belo Horizonte. A structured survey was applied to a sample of 373 people who used the system in 2008.

Results: According to the survey data, 58.6% of the professionals participated in more than three videoconferences in 6 months, whereas 30.3% did not participate in any type of face-to-face training activity; 98% considered the topics interesting and 70% affirmed that the topics discussed helped them when performing assistance tasks. Other aspects that were evaluated as excellent or good include: 36.6% approved the sound quality of the videoconferences, 46.4% approved the image quality, and 43.9% approved the system stability. These results highlight some problems. Nevertheless, 90.2% evaluated the telehealth project as being excellent or good and 96.7% would recommend the implementation of the project in other units.

Conclusions: The system of educational training videoconferences can contribute to improving the competence of primary healthcare attention.