Observation and listening: Methodological resources of investigation in Psychology on the context of maternal and child health

Abstract

This article aims at presenting a theoretical-methodological characterization of clinical observation and listening as important tools of investigation in a public healthcare context in the scope of maternal and child health. For this purpose, methodological resources used on a longitudinal research, which was entitled Promoção de saúde a bebês atendidos em uma Unidade Básica de Saúde: o olhar voltado para indicadores de risco clínico ao desenvolvimento infantil (Health Promotion to babies assisted in a Primary Healthcare Center: a look on clinical index of risk on child development), were approached. The usage of such methodological resources on the research was guided by Indicadores Clínicos de Risco ao Desenvolvimento Infantil (Clinical Index of Risk on Child Development) (IRDI) and is anchored on psychoanalytic references. In this article, we aimed at describing how observation and listening were used on the mentioned research, as well as presenting the main issues that were perceived with the usage of such tools in research situations. It is possible to affirm that the combination of these resources poses as excellent research tools in order to access and to comprehend psychic health in the field of maternal and child health. Nevertheless, despite their benefits, the researcher must embrace a position of care, attention, and sensibility in order to sustain the potential value of those devices.

Keywords: observation, listening, maternal and child health.