Performance of the Family Health Strategy from the perspective of users with cancer

Abstract

The objective of the study was to understand how users with cancer perceive the performance of professionals of the Family Health Strategy teams (the family health program of the Brazilian Ministry of Health). A descriptive study of a qualitative nature was conducted in a city in the northwest of the state of Paraná. The data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews with nine users with cancer registered with the Family Health Strategy. Two categories emerged from the thematic content analysis, which showed that, from the perception of the participants in the study, the care received is based on the supply of materials and inputs, in addition to clinical procedures, that are considered essential for care. However, the participants resented the lack of attention and interaction with the team. In conclusion, although the participants recognized that the care received includes necessary devices for the follow-up of their disease, they perceived a distancing in the relationship with some members of the healthcare team and the consequent lack of attention to their emotional needs and subjectivities.