ABSTRACT. Introduction The news’ creation process is complex because it collaboratively involves different stakeholders (e.g. sources, journalists, editors, sociologists) with seemingly contradictory needs. It is therefore important to better understand what those parties are and their respective needs, particularly in the case of news that may influence National Security.

Goals and Methods 52 students of Communication Sciences’ bachelor degree participated in a Brainstorming on the theme: “How to produce news that do not impact National Security?”, which resulted in a set of words around How is the (current) process, Who are the stakeholders already/to be involved and their motivations, and What alarms / worries people in the news. The data obtained confirmed that there is limited knowledge about the specific process of such news and thus the need to continue research using a qualitative methodology, which included the collection and content analysis of 15 semi-structured individual interviews to reporters, editors, sociologists, psychologists, security forces, and hospital managers. Additionally the Brainstorming results also supported the elaboration of the interview questions while the interviews were literally analyzed with the support of NVivo.

Results Qualitative data analysis allowed the identification of three main codes based on the questions posed “Who is/should be involved, What is important, and How is/should be the language used”, in the perspective of each profession. A relevant contribution found is that journalists have insufficient training in assessing news’ harmful impacts or preparing for disasters.

Conclusions. This research contributes with an innovative exploratory study because previous studies have only addressed specific stakeholder groups. Thus this work initiates a critical reflection on the news’ developing process that may influence National Security so that in the future they can meet the needs of all parties involved and at the same time prevent harmful effects on society, especially in the case of emerging risks.

ABSTRACT. Portugal has assumed gender equality as one of its six strategic priorities in the process of implementing the 2030 Agenda – Sustainable Development Goals. Although promotion of strategies and actions has increased and diver-sified over the past years, the latest official reports reveal that equality be-tween men and women in several fields does not go beyond a formal status. The qualitative case study developed explores and characterizes the social representations of local key , political and intervention, actors on the mean-ing, domains and practices and dynamics to promote gender equality in four municipalities of NUTS III – Baixo Alentejo, taking five local action frame-work documents and nine in-depth interviews as sources. With the combined use of T-Lab and webQDA software tools (Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software), a thematic content analysis was carried out on the corpus formed by: 1) the textual sections related to gender equality contained in the documents and 2) the transcriptions of re-sponses. The most repeated keywords were identified with T-Lab and a "word association" analysis was performed. With webQDA, the thematic content analysis was organized by categories and subcategories which al-lowed the structuring elements of the social representations on gender equal-ity contained that emerged from the analysed corpus to be identified and in-terpreted. The analysis carried out clearly reveals an incomplete approach to gender equality in terms of local dynamics and practices, as the intervention is mainly focused on a single aspect, such as domestic violence. Despite the ex-isting normative framework and policy guidelines, the study carried out re-veals that most key actors lack knowledge regarding some gender equality problems and domains and fail to identify evidences of inequality, which negatively influences the implemented action plans.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Violetas is a cooperative and strategic game, which aims to subsidize learning about gender violence. It also allows for the exchange of experiences among public policymakers and other professionals dealing with gender violence. Objectives: To identify and analyse the perceptions of professionals about violence against women, under gender category. Methods: This is a qualitative study, part of a larger project entitled “Potentials and limits of the game Violetas for confronting gender violence”. The participants were professionals responsible who assist women in situations of violence at the institution called Casa da Mulher Brasileira (CMB). Data were collected in the three CMB: Brasília, Campo Grande and Curitiba. Filled forms, digital images and sound recordings were used in the mixed data collection modality: critical-emancipatory workshop and participant observation. After the transcriptions, the data treatment was performed according to the thematic content analysis technique with the support of webQDA software. Results: In total, thirty professionals from different sectors of the institutions participated in the research. An empirical category emerged: Perceptions of professionals in relation to violence against women. In this category, participants considered that violence against women is based on gender stereotypes reinforced by biological differences. They recognized female subordination in public life through salary and job differences, and in private life through responsibility for domestic activities and care of children. The discourses also addressed issues related to the objectification of the female body and sexual and reproductive rights. According to the participants, violence against women causes feelings of blame, helplessness, isolation, confinement and pain. They believe that women's empowerment is a possibility to confront the problem. Conclusions: The game provided reflections on the different expressions of gender violence in the public and private life of the women. Hence, this is an important technology in training and qualifying professionals about the thematic.

ABSTRACT. In 2018, an Action Research project was initiated with the aim of contributing to the Inclusive Education of Children with Special Needs in the Arts Education Programmes in Portugal. The study was initiated by the enrolment of a child with Cerebral Palsy in the Music Arts Education Programmes. The objective of this work was to define the methodology to be used – action-research - in order to justify the methodological choice of this research project in relation to other options. Therefore, we conducted an integrative literature review on the action-research methodology. We started by selecting reference authors in action-research methodology. Then we looked for studies carried out with this methodology, related to the theme of our research project. For this purpose, we used different databases (b-on, Elsevier, ERIC, Google Scholar, Scielo, Scopus and Web of Science), through keywords related to the theme under study: action-research, inclusion, music education, music learning, special education, cerebral palsy, physical disability, special needs, assistive technology, assistive devices, and music arts education programmes. All the compiled information was organized and studied through content analysis supported by the software package webQDA, which proved to be effective for the characterization of the information. We observed that there are not many rigorous studies in our area using this methodology. Despite this, in view of other methodological possibilities, we confirm this methodology as being the most appropriate for our type of study, allowing us to perform an in-depth comprehension of the problems and practical situations, involving the subjects participating in the construction of knowledge. Finally, the integrative literature review using webQDA as a content analysis tool helped us to gain a deeper understanding of the methodological process, making us more aware of its potentialities and limitations.

ABSTRACT. Introduction Multimorbidity (MM) is a rising phenomenon, described as the presence of two or more chronic illnesses, that has in itself a poor prognosis and worse quality of life, increasing health expense, and inappropriate use of available resources. Nurses have a paramount role, in order to intervenne to promote comfort. Goals and methods With the goal of mapping nursing interventions directed to the oncologic patient with MM, arises this scoping review. The starting question was “Which nursing interventions improve the quality of care provided to multimorbidity oncological patients?” A PCC framework was designed, following the Joanna Briggs Institute (2017) methodology. CINAHL and MEDLINE data bases were research, and eight articles were retrieved, after applying inclusion criteria. Data extraction was undertaken by two independent revisers. Results In all articles there is a scarcity of structured nursing interventions. Some studies suggest that these interventions should be grouped by domains: physical, environmental, social and psycho-emotional. Being a global approach, it is difficult to separate nursing interventions; therefore, some studies group them in structured programs. It is argued that changes at all levels should happen: either organizational, and in management policies allowing service reorganization as well as the health professionals themselves, regarding the patient as a whole, inserted in a multidisciplinary team. Finally, it is also highlighted the need to intervene on the social and family environment, with coordination of available community care, allowing patients to remain active, avoiding isolation. Conclusions It was concluded that organizational changes are imperative, as well as, from health care professionals, through a concerted intervention, focused on structured programs. These programs should center on all domains. Finally, it was noted a lack of evidence concerning the efficacy of the nurse interventions identified, requiring further investigation.

ABSTRACT. Introduction

Becoming the mother of a second child, as a specific phenomenon of transition in parenting, represents a period of greater (trans)formation and vulnerability of the person, as a “being-in-the-world”, in the encounter of his new identity, that leads to needs in the health domain.

However, this transition is poorly investigated. Having access to the meaning attributed to the lived experience of the woman who becomes the mother of a second child opens a new perspective of understanding on this phenomenon of transition from parenting.

Goals

This study aimed to understand the meaning of the lived experience of the woman who becomes the mother of a second child. The investigation is part of a qualitative methodology, with a hermeneutical phenomenological design.

Methods   

The experiential material was collected from phenomenological interviews with 11 women, with a second child aged between 18 and 24 months. The activities developed in the data analysis process took van Manen's guidelines into account.

Findings

The moment of returning home and everyday life: everything is a lot… I need more ... was one of the identified themes that commonly emerged from the participants' narratives where the following variations are included: I want to be here, but I also want to be there…: I wasn't being a everything-right mother…; Time for us is zero: giving everything from ourselves; The experience of the essential: oh mom, I'm here!; I need more: a lot but with the support of one other….

Conclusions

Through this study, nurses can access the lived experience of these women and with these findings improve their intervention.

ABSTRACT. Choosing a qualitative method for research often means carrying out interviews, which are then accompanied by the corpus transcription. However, the transcription process and its usefulness are generally little discussed from a methodological point of view in the communication of research results. When considering the activity of transcription within a broader process of research work, two main uses can be identified. Transcription facilitates the work of analysis on the basis of a written corpus and then the presentation of the results in written form. However, the work of transcription, except a huge spend of time, requires specific skills related to linguistics. In this field, it is not uncommon to consider transcription as a first discourse interpretation. It is therefore understandable that this stage prior to data analysis is a delicate one. Yet students rarely receive adequate training or pedagogical support for this task. This paper proposes to question the validity of the full transcription of corpora in training programs at master's level, by establishing the state-of-the art on transcription, and then by questioning the practices and beliefs of teachers in charge of directing master's theses in a swiss university, involving transcription during qualitative approaches. The initial results show that, generally speaking, teachers do not question the merits of the approach or its validity. They recognize the lack of training and methods offered to students as well as the difficulty experienced by students in this task. However, they do not consider any other way of proceeding. The continuation of this work will make it possible to reflect on the adjustments to be proposed in the training of master's level students in order to make students work directly on the audio corpus, without going through the complete transcription into recordings, while maintaining (and improving) the quality of data processing.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: The evidence about risk factors and preventive measures to control risk, falls, secondary injuries and their severity have been productive, but have not been translated into the clinic. The prevalence of falls in nursing homes remains high and with serious consequences on the loss of functionality and quality of life in institutionalized elderly. Goals: Identify fall risk management practices in nursing home; Design, implement and evaluate a fall risk management program in nursing homes. Methods: Action research study. Participants were professionals and elderly from a Portuguese nursing home. For this communication we present the data from the first phase: diagnosis of the problem, that allows identifying the model in use. Data collection was carried out through participant observation, interview and application of scales. Results: The teams do not systematically identify the risk of falling and decide, individually and occasionally, the preventive measures. There is a concern with the control of environmental risk and difficulties in preventive practices during the supervision of the elderly's daily activities. The team discusses the occurrence of falls, blaming themselves for them, but is not in the habit of sharing information about risk and preventive measures. The health team guides the introduction of some measures, but the process of delegating tasks is not clear in order to ensure safety. After a fall episode, professionals expect a decline in the elderly's functionality but do not monitor it. The fall phenomenon causes fear in professionals and the elderly, the former opt for a paternalistic attitude of overprotection and the latter decrease activity - both processes push the elderly to a high degree of fragility and dependence. Conclusion: Clarifying the model in use to manage the risk and fall increases the understanding of the problem and guides the interventions to be included in fall risk management program.

ABSTRACT. This research aims to explore the concept and the different perspectives of corporate social responsibility and good governance practices in state-owned enterprises in Portugal, given its relevance in national economic activity. A diagnosis of these companies’ practices and disclosure policies was carried out, with regard to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. The methodology focuses on the combination of content analysis matrices in order to validate the quality of non-financial disclosure regarding ESG practices and to set the companies' transparency index. This approach may be used by other similar studies, regardless of the type of entity, in the public or private sector. This evaluation model, based on content analysis of the different types of information disclosed on the companies' web pages, assumes two distinct stages. In the first stage, assigning score methods were developed to estimate the degree of compliance of companies in matters of disclosure, as well as the level of transparency. The second stage, based on the construction of indexes by group, will allow evaluating the quality of the information disclosed. It was concluded that a significant part of companies does not disclose all the information legally required on their websites, access is not always direct and, often, information is out of date. Although larger companies are quite transparent in the dissemination of information and have assumed a greater number of environmental and social commitments, some of the public sector companies are not yet contributing to the good implementation of public policies or to the dissemination of good practices in the economic, social and environmental fields. Summing up, it was not possible to consider state-owned companies in Portugal as the best example in good governance practices and disclosure policies of ESG issues.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: According to literature review, the number of studies focusing on Computer-Assisted Qualitative-Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) as well as on clear descriptions of how these tools can be used is still scarce. Besides this, despite the recognition of content analysis for its appropriateness to qualitative studies, several authors refer to ambiguity problems, mostly related to the subjectivity of the coding process, which may interfere with the assurance of the validity criteria of stability, reproducibility and accuracy. Goals and methods: This study is predominately methodological and focuses on a segment of the results of a multiple case study, involving five peer learning projects, implemented in five Portuguese educational institutions; and on the re-flection on the role of content analysis, as the chosen data analysis technique, and the support of qualitative analysis software WebQDA, particularly regarding the assurance of the validity criteria of reproducibility and accuracy. By means of a semi-structured interview and a survey by questionnaire, this study aims at assessing teachers and peer teacher students’ perceptions of motivations to integrate the projects as well as of the contributions resulting from participation, regarding benefits and major challenges; and analyse the role of content analysis, supported by software WebQDA, in identifying these teachers and peer teacher students’ convergent/divergent perceptions. Results: Results show there is clear convergence of teachers and peer teacher students’ perceptions regarding the three variables assessed, particularly as for participation benefits. It is also evident that teachers and peer teacher students’ perceptions diverge in matters related to specificities of the role assumed in the projects. The contribution of software WebQDA was particularly significant re-garding the transparency, structure and systematization facilitated. Conclusions: Conclusions enhance the role of content analysis and of software WebQDA for promoting reflexive and in-depth analysis of the collected data and for assuring replication of the study.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Martins is developing a holistic intervention model in sport that makes an interface between sport psychology, neurolinguistic programming and neurolinguistic coaching. The main tool used to guide sport actors is observation, so it is important to have a trustworthy instrument. The main goal is to build and validate a Rapport Observation System (Sistema de Observação de Rapport – SOR) between the coach and the coachee. The sample are the observation periods considered to validate the instrument. As a method it will be used Systematic Observation, involving four tasks: i) construction of the categories; ii) construction of the observation manual; iii) construction of the registration instrument; iv) validity and reliability by consensus, Cohen's Kappa, through intra and inter-subject observations. Result: SOR consists of 4 levels of categories: 4th - rapport; 3rd - coach and coachee behaviors; 2nd - for the coach we have 5 subcategories: proximity behavior; mirroring; voice characteristics; active listening; other behaviors; 2nd - for the coachee we have 6 subcategories of which the only one that is different from the coach categories, is make confidences; 1st - regarding the coach, a total of 42 behaviors were observed and concerning the coachee, a total of 36 behaviors were identified. SOR consists of a total of 78 behaviors that define rapport. Conclusions: as the focus of this abstract is to build and validate a Rapport Observation System (SOR), the inductive recategorization process is ongoing at this stage, having already obtained the opinion of the panels of NLP specialists, of psychologists and of the specialists in sport and exercise. As a result, we have already obtained a System of Categories that is being used for intra and inter-observer validation that is taking place. In a first analysis, there is evidence of the need to validate the SOR using more coaches.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG) are a fast-expanding family of rare and medically complex diseases mostly lacking effective treatments[1]. Disease models are essential tools in the drug development process [2] and several have been developed for CDGs. However, a well-accepted CDG disease model is missing.

Aim: To understand the CDG disease models landscape and signal future directions by identifying challenges and solutions in a community needs-assessment exercise. For that, we aimed to join the vision of CDG families and professionals with the prospect of accelerating disease models generation for effective therapy-development.  

Methods: A mixed-research approach was framed within the 4^th World Conference on CDG for Families and Professionals. A quantitative electronic survey was developed using SurveyMonkey platform, distributed through social media and analysed via descriptive statistics tools. Qualitative analysis of the transcriptions of Think Tank discussions recorded during the conference was performed by two independent researchers using Nvivo coding.

Results: CDG family members (n=82) and professionals (n=46) answered the survey. Most participants believed that CDG disease models were essential for CDG therapy-driven research and 46% of professionals reported to use disease models in their research. High costs and lack of investment were identified as the major obstacles for disease models development by the CDG community both in the survey and during Think Thank discussions. The lack of existing suitable models and the issues related to model translatability to humans were also extensively raised in the Think Tanks. Participants recognised the need to conduct more research on this topic and the investment in simpler models to reduce research costs. To address translatability issues investment in more complex animal models was suggested.

Conclusion: This innovative, community-framed research approach has shed light on the status of CDG disease models and suggested future directions to this prime topic for therapy research and development. 

ABSTRACT. This presentation will introduce the author’s experience of conducting face-to-face interviews with experts. The research employed grounded theory as a framework to collect and analyze qualitative data. It is a part of a PhD research on the impact of state-sponsored religious schools on youth’s religiosity in Turkey. After briefly introducing the existing literature on religious schools in Turkey and expert interview, this paper reflects upon the interaction of the author as a researcher with the experts. The experts are the civil servants, academics, and teachers and principals of religious schools (Imam Hatip Schools-IHLs) in Turkey. The status of the IHLs is a long-term controversial issue and affected by the ideological stances of every government. Considering the current political environment in Turkey, this research is not a study that experts will easily join it. Thus, the main focus of the presentation will be interviewing experts as a relatively novice researcher in a politically sensitive topic and impact of the power imbalance between the researcher and the researched on the topic under question. It will be elaborated through the discussion of the effect of the researcher’s personal history on the interviewing process, problems in reaching the experts, establishing the rapport, asking questions about a hot topic and receiving answers, and dealing with the cultural roles that affect the interviewing process. All of them, this paper concludes, affect the information gained from the interviews. The knowledge produced through the interaction between the researcher and the researched cannot be considered as totally objective. Rather, it is produced by the actors with different worldviews and influenced by the politics of time.

ABSTRACT. Information and the way it’s accessed an essential tool in healthcare and one of the pillars of health literacy. The use of digital technologies is now a social reality. The prevalence of low levels of health literacy in people with COPD limits access, search for health information, online, credible and of quality. Objective: To analyse how the health literacy levels of people with COPD influence access to digital information. Method: Observational, cross-sectional study with a quantitative and qualitative approach. It consists of the evaluation of health literacy, the search for health information and a semi-structured interview to identify the information strategies that contribute to the understanding of the health condition. Results: Participants with a marginal and adequate level of literacy, more often, manifest access to digital technologies to clarify themselves. Furthermore, the use of these is less valued regardless of the level of health literacy. Conclusion: The use of the internet in the search for information depends on individual capacities, sociodemographic factors, health and cognitive conditions and the difficulty in using digital technology and not on the level of health literacy.

ABSTRACT. In order to contribute to the Inclusive Education of Children with Special Needs in the Arts Education Programmes of Music in Portugal, an Action-Research project was started in 2018. With this work we intend to characterize the child that originated the study and to relate their characterization with studies obtained in the literature review, whose theme is the inclusion of children with Special Needs in music teaching. For that, we started with a literature review. The studies considered in the teaching of music highlighted the lack of training of teachers as the greatest barrier to an effective inclusion. Some studies point out some facilitating responses like the use of assistive technology, software and musical technologies. We also sought authors to help us reflect on the learning processes of the child, their development (psychological functions and maturation of the child), the specific relationship between adult and child (scaffolding) and social interactions in the context in which they live. The analysis of "Vygotsky's Cognitive Development Theory" and "Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory of Human Development" presented us with this possibility. Besides the literature review, nine interviews were carried out, considering the person in charge of education and the different education and health professionals who work with the child. All information compiled was organised and studied through content analysis supported by Computer-assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software on the webQDA platform. The results highlight the importance of using assistive technology, music software, adapted musical instruments, etc., to be used in the learning of music, as we found in the literature. They also point out the need for individualised support (people), the need to promote the skills of the professionals working with the child, the accessibility of spaces and the adaptations of programmes. We propose the development of training courses to promote Inclusion.

ABSTRACT. The critical incident technique (CIT) makes possible the identification of behaviors that have been observed to lead to success or failure of a specific task. The CIT obtains a record of these specific behaviors from those in the best position to make the necessary observations and evaluations. Inductive in nature, the CIT is recognized today as an effective exploratory and investigative tool. It has been frequently used as a qualitative research method, but was primarily used as a personnel training tool and can be utilized in teaching (e.g., teaching negotiation).

The relational nature of negotiation leads to the huge challenge of transforming students’ interpersonal behaviors. However, merely providing students with opportunities to experiment via role-playing situations is unlikely to be truly transformative. The CIT was chosen as a pedagogical technique because of its analytical and reflexive perspective. The goal was to increase the transformative capacity of role-playing. The learning objectives of the online negotiation course were actually to enhance behaviors relevant to effective sales negotiation. In this presentation, the author describes how he used the CIT in conjunction with role-playing situations with 24 graduate students in marketing and international sales.

The critical incident approach engages participants in examining behaviors critical to their effectiveness. Students had to use an observation form to identify the critical behaviors that can determine the outcome of a sales negotiation. The completed forms made it possible to measure if the learning objectives were met. The CIT utilizes concrete experience and reflective observation learning styles. This presentation will provide with insights about how a qualitative research method may be used in teaching or in personnel training.

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Qualitative researchers strive hard to be taken serious within the field of clinical psychology. Therefore, they typically want to avoid to be accused of being biased. This results in a big focus on bracketing theoretical background and personal assumptions as much as possible. However, this fear of being theoretically biased often leads, in our opinion, to rather superficial analyses. Goal: We will argue how making use of a theoretical framework improves rather than limits the quality of qualitative research. We will use our own research regarding the experience of negative symptoms in psychosis as an example. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 psychotic patients about their experiences of negative symptoms. Interviews were analyzed by means of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The research team has a theoretical background in psychoanalysis and phenomenology and extensive knowledge regarding common theories on negative symptoms. Despite noticing links with theory, our analysis of individual cases remained as close to the words of the participants as possible. Our synthesis of the different cases started atheoretical, but we soon moved to a more theoretical inspired approach as this did more right to the data. Results: Participants preferred to talk about supposed causes of negative symptoms (i.e. secondary negative symptoms), while avoiding to talk about the actual experiences. Based on our theoretical framework we could make sense of this, hypothesizing that negative symptoms are characterized by the impossibility of language to grasp these experiences. The failure of the narrative thus became the central theme in our analyses. Conclusion: An atheoretical analysis would have led to the classical primary versus secondary negative symptoms division and would as such have been of little added value. Our theoretical approach, however, created a deeper insight in the experience of negative symptoms, by providing a lens through which to approach the data.

ABSTRACT. Psychiatric care in France seems to be torn between two conflicting approaches defended by professionals themselves : the first one, based on psychodynamic theories, pleads for a “relational” (Sassolas, 2019) or “artisanal” (Venet, 2020) psychiatric practice, refusing standardized protocols and evaluation on the basis that they erase professionals’ subjectivity at work. The second one, which relies on neurosciences and an evidence-based approach (Leboyer & Llorca, 2018), argues professionals only progress and achieve best practices through the standardization of their therapeutic interactions with patients, either using scales or e-mental health tools. To investigate the reality of day-to-day professional/patient interactions in French psychiatric services, we conducted a qualitative study based on interdisciplinary data gathering and analysis in five psychiatric sectors. The two researchers involved, a sociologist and a clinical psychologist, shared a single ethnographic methodology (Beaud & Weber, 2017) consisting in field observations, note-taking and semi-directed interviews with mental healthcare workers (psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, nursing assistants…). We will explain how we combined a descriptive paradigm grounded in Ughetto’s sociology of activity (2011) and Bourdieu’s theory of practice (Bourdieu, 2015) on one side, and psychodynamic psychology’s clinical interpretations on the other side, to answer our research question. We will in particular focus on the way this combination, which implied a certain “trouble of having a psychologist sharing field work” (Dasen, 2019) enabled us to draw a typology of “therapeutic styles” beyond the apparent dichotomy between psychodynamic and scientific approaches, as well as offer a clinical interpretation of this currently undergoing conflict in psychiatric care. We will finally propose that a certain degree of formalization, understood as a way for pluriprofessional teams to stay creative in their interactions with patients while building shared mental models (Mathieu, Heffner, Goodwin, Salas, & Cannon-Bowers, 2000) of care, could be a fruitful alternative between improvisation and standardization.

ABSTRACT. Many qualitative approaches and methods have been developed as alternatives to the positivistic, reductionist modes of research. They were developed to capture and understand the complexity of the world, while embedding the research process in modes of activity congruent with and capable of performing such complexity. In this paper, we propose that many practices habitual to qualitative researchers can be transferred, adapted and integrated into the development of new tools, strategies and resources specifically aimed at supporting and promoting the practice of complex thinking, for the management of change, towards positive and sustainable outcomes, in the context of ‘real-world’ interventions (e.g. policy-making; program development and evaluation; clinical interventions). Qualitative methods are not new to the toolkits of many program developers and evaluators of real world interventions, namely those informed by more systems oriented and complexity informed modes of thinking. Following the work of Edgar Morin and building on contributions from systems and complexity science, a recent framework proposes the operationalisation of complex thinking through the practice of a coupling relationship with the world that not only attends to but also enacts particular properties of the complex world. An increased coherence and complexity in this coupling is said to lead to more positive actions even in the face of uncertainty and partial information. Strategies familiar to qualitative researchers (‘qualitative thinking’) could be more fully integrated into our natural modes of thinking and contribute to the development of operational tools for the practice of complex thinking. We will explore contributions from particular practices attending to: the complexity of the observer (e.g. reflexivity, multipositioning); structural complexity of the thinking (e.g. variety/multidimensionality; relationality; recursiveness); causal complexity (e.g.emergence; historicity; circularity/parts-whole relations); dynamic complexity (e.g. process and dynamics; ambiguity and uncertainty); ethics, aesthetics; and narrative complexity (e.g. differentiation and integration; identity; flexibility and openness).

ABSTRACT. Health promotion, especially in Primary Care, has been emphasized to integrate health care since the publication of the National Policy of Integrative and Complementary Practices in the Unified Health System (SUS) in 2006, which included 29 complementary therapies. Although Brazil has made significant advances in adhering to this policy to align with international trends, some challenges regarding its effective implementation have been observed. Among the challenges are the stumbling blocks in the conceptual and practical bases guiding the work of the local Primary Health Care (PHC) service managers to construct community health integrality. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the perceptions of health, integrality, and care of local managers who do not provide or no longer provide complementary therapies in PHC services. This exploratory study with qualitative data analysis was carried out in the Metropolitan Region of Goiânia, Goiás State, Brazil, through semi-structured interviews with 24 local PHC network managers. Data were collected from November to December 2018. The content was analyzed through the thematic analysis technique, with support from NVivo © software. The results show that managers’ health concepts and perceptions are directed towards the well-being and quality of life. Integrality and care are directly related to care provision, and managers put them into practice daily during the work process. It appears that the perceptions are still rooted in the reproduction of actions and practices centered on the biomedical model, which seems to hinder the effective entry of new care models, such as complementary therapies.