Restrictions and improvements in the Family Health Program of Campina Grande: a study based on social representations

Abstract

This article aims at examining social representations of those professionals involved with the Family Health Program (PSF - Programa Saúde da Família) in Campina Grande - state of Paraíba. Our main goal is to analyze the representations these professionals built about the Program and about the work carried out there. Ours was a qualitative research based on the Theory of Social Representations. We used participant observation and semi-structured interviews as tools for collecting data. Twenty-four professionals were interviewed: 03 medical doctors, 03 nurses, 04 assistant nurses, 02 dental surgeons, 01 dentist assistant, 02 social workers and 09 community health agents. The discourses were analyzed according to the analysis proposal of Thematic Content. It was observed that all the people interviewed represent PSF as a proposal that has brought positive contributions. Nevertheless, they also stress the absence of integrality and of actions between different sectors, as well as problems in the organization of the reference and counter-reference system in order to assure actions that have the power to solve problems. As regards the work carried out by the Program itself, the professionals represent it as "well-planned", "organized", and "gratifying". On the other hand, some of the discourses complain about low salaries, consuming work and work overload. They suggest that "working for the PSF is not so satisfying" as it may seem. The social representations built by the interviewed professionals lead to the idea that there is not harmony between the actual program and the directions proposed by the Ministry of Health. The conclusion we have reached is that the PSF in Campina Grande must undergo some structural changes so that its goals may be reached.