Knowledge production in nursing: contribution of a master’s degree course

Abstract

The Master's Degree Course in Nursing of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) elaborated, implemented and evaluated dissertations during the last ten years. That makes necessary as objective the knowledge of this production, in systematized way, as an important step for process of course evaluation. The present study is identified as descriptive research of quantitative approach. It consists of documental analysis of 195 defended dissertations in Master's Degree Course on Nursing, in the period of January 1999 to January 2004. For data registration, an instrument has been elaborated in order to identify the variables of interest. The obtained data were analyzed through statistical measures. The results show that most of the dissertations are of qualitative approach, standing out the technological area of Health Care and there was predominant participation from the Nursing Team. Among the researched lines it stood out the following ones: The Process of Living; Be Healthy and Get Sick; Education, Health and Nursing. This study partially presented the construction of knowledge in the Master's Degree Course on Nursing at UFSC, demonstrating the importance in having view from the productions accomplished by this Department and observing the repercussion these researches in practice.