STUDENT PERMANENCE IN DISTANCE EDUCATION: A CHALLENGE IN HEALTH MANAGERS’ TRAINING

Case study with a qualitative approach, aiming to analyze students’ permanence in a specialization course in Health Management in the distance education modality, offered at a higher education institution. The participants were 59 students affiliated with in-class support hubs in Minas Gerais and São Paulo, who answered the semistructured interview and an online questionnaire in August 2014. Thematic-Categorical Content Analysis and simple descriptive statistics were used. As the theoretical framework, the final model to analyze students’ permanence in distance education courses was used. It was verified that family support, work, interaction with the tutor and technological skills favored the permanence. An appropriate academic structure, associated with the credibility of the proponent institution and the student’s commitment catalyzed the permanence. It is concluded that health managers’ training in distance education requires that the multiple factors that influence this permanence be taken into account.