Alcohol abuse is one of the main public health problems on the list of priorities in Brazil's Family Health Strategy. The objectives of this study were to learn the views of family health nurses and physicians concerning alcohol abuse, focusing on their understanding of this issue and the way it is handled routinely by health services in the Amazon. This was a qualitative study with 14 recently graduated nurses and physicians from the Family Health Strategy in a county in the interior of the State of Amazonas. Two focus groups were used. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis, based on the principles of the Unified National Health System (SUS) and human resources training. The health professionals identified risk factors for alcohol abuse, were aware of the consequences for the individual and society, and described the criteria used by disease classification systems, but they did not know how to act on this issue, thus revealing gaps in the respective university training.
Alcoholism; Primary Health Care; Human Resources Formatio