Food Guide for the Brazilian Population and the Human Right to Adequate and Healthy Food in the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS): the case of the Panela Aberta Project as Permanent Education strategy

• Grant number: 24/23823-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition
• Principal Investigator: Semíramis Martins Álvares Domene
• Grantee: Samantha Bittencourt Mescoloto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Saúde e Sociedade (ISS). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Given Brazil's food and nutrition situation, in which the national prevalence of food and nutrition security reached its lowest level (44.8%) in recent decades in 2021, added to the importance of adequate dietary patterns for positive health outcomes and building society, it is justified to develop strategies to promote adequate and healthy eating within the social assistance network. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a Permanent Education program, based on the validation of workshops in the Panela Aberta extension project, which is based on the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population. This is a prospective, quantitative-qualitative, descriptive, analytical pre- and post-intervention study, with implementation, and a national sample consisting of nutritionists. The variables of interest are: a) the nutritionists' knowledge about the guidelines of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population; b) self-efficacy and collective efficacy, understood as the perception of confidence in the nutritionist and their team to provide guidance based on the Dietary Guidelines; and c) the practices of the SUAS professionals, based on their understanding of their practices as promoters of the Right to Adequate and Healthy Food. Data on knowledge, self-efficacy and collective efficacy will be collected by filling in a self-administered scale, drawn up and validated in advance; the Student's t-test for paired samples or the Wilcoxon test will be used, depending on the distribution of the variables observed. Regression models will be used to assess the effectiveness of the program. The study on the processes and work dynamics of nutrition professionals will be conducted through methodological triangulation, including fifteen semi-structured interviews with nutritionists, participation of the researchers in events, discussion forums, and technical meetings, as well as documentary research. It is expected to assess whether the workshops using the Panela Aberta method are effective for Permanent Education with a focus on Food and Nutrition Education for dietitian working in the social assistance network throughout the country with regard to Promoting Adequate and Healthy Food. The proposed structure could also serve as a model for other professionals working in the social assistance and food and nutrition security network.