OBJECTIVE: To identify issues that promote agreement and disagreement among doctors, nurses, and health care professionals who integrate the Family Health Care Program team. METHODS: A qualitative study using focus groups was carried out. The participants were male and female health care professionals, doctors and nurses from the Family Health Care Program team in Teresina, Brazil. Group sessions were conducted by a coordinator and with the participation of an observer and the following issues were raised: insertion in the program, capacitating process, main concepts of the program, relation with the organization and the prevailing health care model, relationships between the team members and the community, required and available services, work conditions and legal work situation, positive and negative factors. RESULTS: General issues such as community work, preventive care and teamwork brought out agreement among the three categories of professionals. Issues that reinforced the disagreement of the professional categories were salary levels, relationship with the community, team responsibility, and strategies to meet the needs. Issues that promoted internal disagreement in each group were work conditions, relationship with the community and team responsibility. CONCLUSIONS: Issues that brought out more disagreement where those that reinforced the corporate aspects of each professional category, while issues that promoted internal disagreement in each group were discussed based on external references, suggesting the need for better defining specific matters in the Family Health Care Program. Strategies to meet the community needs have proven to be a matter of urgency for the health care professionals group since they are the first ones responsible for solving community health care services problems.
Family health; Health plans; Patient care team; Primary health care; Focus groups
