Programa Bolsa Família: percepção dos profissionais e beneficiários quanto ao acompanhamento das condicionalidades em saúde

Abstract

The Brazilian Federal Constitution presents as one of the four fundamental objectives of the country to eradicate poverty and marginalization as well as to reduce social and regional inequalities. Created in 2003 to fulfill this objective, the ProgramaBolsaFamília (PBF) has among its primary goals to promote access to the network of public services, health, education, and social assistance; fight hunger and foster Food and Nutrition Security. As a strategy to promote the families supported by the PBF to access the public service network, the program demands compliance with conditionalities in the areas of health, education and social assistance. Regarding the health conditionalities, the Unified Health System through the Family Health Strategy program, the AgenteComunitário de Saúde (ACS) or a Basic Health Unit, should offer the compliance tracking. In this context, this work aimed to identify the understanding of the health conditionalities tracking by beneficiaries and professionals of the municipality of Lavras/MG. The conducted study was cross-sectional, with qualitative methodologyFor the characterization of the interviewees, socioeconomic questionnaires and identification cards were applied to beneficiaries and professionals.In-depth interviews were conductedwith beneficiaries, health professionals at the technical and higher education level and ACS. The number of respondents was defined using the data saturation method. The results were obtained through content analysis, which was divided into two categories related to the objectives of the research: Benefits of the program to improve the quality of life and Qualification of the conditionalities tracking. The results indicated that the interviewees considered the program as a way to obtain financial resources and have limited knowledge of its other objectives. The resource is being used mainly in the purchase of food, although it is not necessarily contributing to a healthier diet.Concerning the conditionalities tracking, the reported perception is associated with a bureaucratic purpose only and disarticulation between society, program local management and health professionals. The conclusion of this study is the need to enhance the conditionalities tracking to fulfill its original mission. In this sense, it is required to strengthen the integration of the health sector with the metropolitan management of the PBF, especially seeking greater qualification of those involved concerning their responsibilities and competencies for an integrated action in the operationalization of the PBF. The proposal rationale of a strategy that presents activities pertinent to the local context is a social contribution of this work since in this way the research collaborates to reduce health inequities and, consequently, to improve the quality of life of the participants of the PBF.