This evaluative study was performed in eight counties in Ceará State, Brazil, from July to September 2003. Data were collected through interviews with 29 nurses and 50 users of the Family Health Program (FHP), besides observations at health units. The aim was to identify the nature of family planning services and verify the existence of barriers to services and provision of contraceptives with a view towards ensuring an appropriate services network. Five styles of services were identified, although none followed a formal protocol, which raises a legal and ethical dilemma regarding prescription of contraceptives by nurses; delivery of contraceptive methods requires a monthly return visit by users due to excessive and unnecessary technical requirements that create barriers to access by users; and there is a lack of appropriate services, with nurse- and doctor-centered treatment and lack of partnership with other reproductive health services or community groups. Future studies should be designed to identify distinct dynamics in the FHP that innovate in family planning, as well as to define the legal and ethical framework for nurses to prescribe the methods.
Family Planning (Public Health); Contraception; Family Health Program
