Família: significado para os profissionais da estratégia de saúde da família

Abstract

Objective: To seize the meaning of family that permeates the practice of nurses, physicians and dentists of the Family Health Strategy. Methods: This was a qualitative descriptive study, conducted between July and August 2012 in four Primary Family Health Centers located in the four zones of the city of Mossoro, RN. For data collection, we carried out semi-structured interviews with 24 professionals. Data underwent content analysis. Results: We found that nurses and dentists had completed their undergraduate studies for a longer period than physicians. Both have spent more time working within the Strategy and are mostly specialized in the area. All respondents had difficulties conceptualizing family, with their speech revealing vague conceptual aspects that do not sustain an effective health care. However, professionals recognize that a health-oriented approach to the physical, social and economic needs, not only of the individual, but also of all his family, has greater potential compared to traditional approaches. Conclusion: The concepts of family that permeate the practice of the professionals assessed are vague and do not support effective actions to promote family health. These concepts are often presented with a prejudice load that leads to disbelief in working with models of specific families that are not within the patterns of structured family understood by those professionals.