This study was aimed at analyzing the involvement of Health Primary Care teams in the tuberculosis control actions in the perception of the Tuberculosis Control Program coordinators of nine priority municipalities of the State of São Paulo. It is a qualitative research whose data were collected in June of 2005 through semi-structured interviews with nine coordinators. The content thematic modality was used for the analysis of the data. The results pointed out to difficulties in the implementation of the tuberculosis control actions in primary care related to quantitative and qualitative deficiencies of human resources and to a centralized and fragmented view regarding the organization of these actions in the health system. The integration of tuberculosis control activities in primary care is possible provided the system is organized according to primary care principles and a policy of human resources that ensures continuous education and capacity-building of health teams is elaborated/implemented.
Tuberculosis; Directly observed therapy; Health manpower; Primary health care; Public health nursing