INFORMATION OF PROFESSIONAL MASTER

Information

Based on the experience lived by the professors of the Department of Social and Preventive Dentistry at UFMG with the Master’s and Ph.D. programs in Dentistry, in the area of Collective Health, of an academic nature, and through a consistent interaction between faculty and public health services, the need for a proposal more focused on issues experienced in the professional practice of those working in the service became evident. This would allow the institution to expand its activities integrating postgraduate education and service. Thus, in 2014, the activities of the Professional Master’s in Dentistry in Public Health began.

The master’s program aims to train dentists capable of investigating, analyzing, understanding the determination of the health/disease process, and proposing intervention approaches in their work context, using available strategies in oral health and other sectors. The goal is to produce a professional competent to intervene in health services, capable of conducting research, analyzing data, making diagnoses, planning, evaluating interventions, and having the ability to manage health services.

The student’s curriculum allows for the articulation of paths in building their trajectory in the master’s program. This path occurs through mandatory and elective courses. The student takes three mandatory courses and four elective ones. Thus, they can choose from the eight elective courses those that align with their context, professional experience, and research project to fulfill the credits required for their graduation.

Research/Activity Lines

Applied Epidemiology to Health Services: This line includes epidemiological studies conducted in health service settings. These studies aim to highlight the importance of epidemiology and its relationship to planning, diagnosis, surveillance, organization, and evaluation of health practices. This research line has contributed to the development of strategies and social technologies that ensure the quality and improvement of health services from an ethical perspective.

Public Policies, Planning, Management, and Health Evaluation: This line includes studies conducted in health service settings aimed at a better understanding of public policy guidelines at different government levels. Due to the organization of health services, the focus is on Primary Care and other levels that make up the care network based on public policies. This research line has enabled students/professionals to assess public management models for planning and programming, process technologies in health management, and their applicability in service contexts. It also involves the development of evaluation instruments for care, mainly driven by the need for the use of resolution-focused technologies, with universality and equity.