Desenvolvimento de tecnologia emancipatória para a segurança do paciente em serviços de saúde mental: uma Pesquisa Convergente Assistencial no contexto hospitalar

Abstract

This study develops an emancipatory care technology aimed at patient safety in mental health services, focusing on the participation of psychiatric inpatients in the nursing handover process. It is a Convergent Care Research (CCR), conducted in the Integrated Mental Health Unit of the Brazilian Navy, involving nursing professionals as participants, with the purpose of articulating knowledge production and transformation of practice. The study began with a situational diagnosis that revealed communication gaps, lack of standardization, and limited patient inclusion in the handover process. Subsequently, a convergent care meeting was held, during which the team analyzed daily practice, discussed barriers and strengths, and collectively constructed the constitutive elements of a protocol for patient participation in this care practice. The results showed that when handover is conducted by nursing in a relational, dialogical, and person-centered manner, it assumes full emancipatory potential by integrating psychosocial dimensions, strengthening therapeutic bonds, and enhancing continuity of care. The analysis demonstrated that patient participation can expand autonomy, citizenship, and critical awareness, as well as reinforce care safety by reducing communication gaps and fostering shared responsibility in treatment. The technology produced does not add new tasks to the institutional routine; rather, it reframes an existing activity, transforming it into a practice aligned with contemporary guidelines for patient-centered care, capable of contributing to their safety. It is concluded that the protocol developed constitutes a viable, ethical, and innovative proposal to qualify nursing care in psychiatric inpatient settings, with potential applicability across different mental health services, fostering more participatory, ethical, and psychosocially aligned institutional cultures.