Use of the Atlas.ti software to analyze workloads in primary health care in Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to present and discuss the contribution of the Atlas.ti software in the analysis of qualitative data from a research on workloads of Primary Health Care (PHC) managers. The Software allows to create a Hermeneutic Unit containing all the research data facilitating the analysis of results. Through the resources available in the software is possible to select the more significant quotations assigning codes, and also articulating codes into families which assist in the construction of analytical categories. The research results showed that the work of PHC managers is permeated with challenges, including the need for adaptation to assist the follow-up of PHC teams in Brazil. The study led to conclude that Atlas.ti contributes to streamline the data analysis process, share findings among researchers from different realities, and promote the dialogue between results of qualitative and multicentric studies.