Cadernos de Saúde Pública
Print version ISSN 0102-311X
SILVA, Andréa Tenório Correia da et al. Family Health Support Centers: challenges and opportunities from the perspective of primary care professionals in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 2012, vol.28, n.11, pp. 2076-2084. ISSN 0102-311X. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2012001100007.
Family Health Support Centers (NASF) were created in Brazil to increase the case-resolution capacity of primary healthcare. Prior to their implementation in the West Side of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, a series of workshops were held for primary healthcare professionals to prepare a proposal for such centers. Hermeneutic analysis was used to study the transcribed material. The thematic categories were: role, constitution, and functioning of the NASF, relationship with family health teams, and interdisciplinarity. The participants' expected the NASF to be an empowering device for comprehensiveness of care, intervening in an existing culture of unnecessary referrals while fostering linkage with other levels of care. The participants also expected the NASF to contribute to the discussion on health professionals' training and stimulating reflection with policymakers on health indicators based exclusively on the number of consultations. These indicators fail to reflect the impact on the services' activities and the quality of care offered to the population in the coverage area.
Keywords : Primary Health Care; Health Management; Health Personnel; Family Health Program; Qualitative Research.