Implementation of food and nutrition actions in the context of family health strategy, Paraíba, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the implementation of food and nutrition actions in child health care by family health teams in two municipalities of Paraíba, Brazil. Methodology: Evaluative survey of implementation analysis. Nine health teams in each municipality were randomly selected. Eighteen under-five children were selected, on average, from each team to represent this population group. The structure, the work process and the users’ evaluation were analyzed. For the evaluation of the services from the perspective of the users, the child version of the PCATool questionnaire was used. Results: Scores of the work process and users’ evaluation indicated a fragmented attention in both municipalities, although with some differences between them. In the users’ evaluation using the PCATool questionnaire, only the item completeness in the Municipality 1 reached the “advanced” level. Deficient promotion and prevention practices, growth monitoring and teamwork stood out with scores correlated with the users’ evaluation, especially in the municipality with the best work process. Conclusion: There are impairments to completeness and quality associated with deficiencies in the implementation of food and nutrition actions directed at children’s health.