Medical Humanities Project in the Algarve - a structuring in progress

Abstract

Since its establishment in 2022, in the post–COVID-19 pandemic context, the Portimão Medical Humanities Project has aimed to promote the humanization of healthcare by valuing the narrative, relational, and cultural dimensions of clinical practice. The project emerged as a response to the increasing bureaucratization and depersonalization of medicine, phenomena associated with growing distance between healthcare professionals and patients, as well as rising levels of dissatisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and burnout among caregivers.
Grounded in the principles of Narrative Medicine, the Project has developed a series of low-cost, high-impact initiatives, including Open Libraries in inpatient wards, multidisciplinary cultural gatherings (“Saud’Arte”), shared reflection spaces focused on care, finitude, and professional self-care, and educational activities designed to foster empathy, active listening, and critical reflection.
This article presents the origins of the Project, its theoretical foundations, organizational structure, and main activities implemented to date, as well as its future development perspectives within the Algarve Local Health Unit. By doing so, it seeks to contribute to the discussion on sustainable models for the humanization of healthcare, integrating science, art, and narrative as essential pillars of a more ethical, person-centered medical practice.