Integrality in the care provided for maternal and child health in a rural context: an experience report

Abstract

This is an experience report on the practice of integrality in health in the assistance provided for the mother-child population in the rural area of a city in south Brazil. The reflections come from research on the nutritional health and context of life in the universe of children who are under five years old and live in the countryside. It is mainly based on field notes. It was observed that the rural population lives in conditions of disadvantage, since the healthcare services and assistance are designed almost exclusively for the urban population. Also, the assistance model and the developed working process hinder the practice of integrality. This situation is translated by questions that involve the access, sheltering, bond and responsibility on the part of professionals. Thus, it is necessary to re-think the rural population's health, developing specific policies targeted at the epidemiological and cultural characteristics, in order to have geographically accessible services, assisted by teams which provide a receptive and efficient care.