Strategy of health and family reference sytem: the challenge to be faced

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study was to analyze the perception of professionals from the Family Health Strategy concerning the system of reference and counter-reference in a country town in Rio Grande do Sul. The participants were professionals from two health teams, there were a total of nine participants. The data collection was done through semi-structured interview and then the data was subjected to thematic content analyzes. By analyzing the data, it was concluded that there are gaps restricting the actions of the reference and counter-reference system, which although represents a tool for the development of health services listed integrally, it faces difficulties in its implementation in the investigated reality. It is considered the necessity of a reorganization in health services, since the fundamentals of the Single Health System does not seem to have been incorporated in the organization of the system, hence on the jobs of the professionals who work in this context.