O uso do território na atenção primária à saúde: estudo com médicos e enfermeiros da Estratégica de Saúde da Família (ESF)

Abstract

The Ministry of Health assumed the Family Health Strategy (ESF), with the proposal to reorganize primary care according to SUS principles. This strategy prioritizes health actions aimed at individuals, families and communities in a given territory. Therefore, knowledge about the territory is an indispensable tool for the development of actions in the ESF, for these actions must be based on the potentialities and difficulties found in the context in which the population is inserted. The way in which the territory is approached by health professionals interferes in the work process and in the effectiveness of the activities carried out in the ESF. Thereby, this present study sought to contribute to the theme by doing an analysis of how the territory is understood and used by Primary Health Care professionals. Through a qualitative research with a descriptive character, twenty-two interviews were conducted with physicians and nurses of the Family Health Strategy, in a municipality in a southern city of Minas Gerais. Through the present study it is possible to affirm that, most of the interviewees have a simplified point of view on the concept of territory, related only to a geographical delimitation. However, by characterizing the territory in which they act, in addition to the geographic characteristics, other factors are mentioned: population particulars, basic sanitation conditions, health hazard and social problems. Regarding the use of the territory in the extramural activities, it is remarkable the realization of partnerships with institutions present in the territory. Hence, given the obtained data, it is concluded that the territory is used in the ESF through partnerships and extramural activities, and that these activities are executed mostly by nurses, being that most physicians only does home visits and appointments at health facilities.