Primary health care professionals and mental health demands: Perspectives and challenges (abstract: P. 16)

Abstract

Mental Health (MH) in Primary Health Care is complex and requires the integration of actions across various levels of care. This study sought to understand how primary care professionals in 11 municipalities in Minas Gerais with family health centers (FHC) deal with MH demands. We conducted a qualitative study with focus groups made up of 134 health professionals. The professionals were not equipped with tools or strategies to quantify and organize MH demands; MH training was insufficient; the professionals reported difficulties implementing FHC proposals and problems in the organization and coordination of the psychosocial care network, compromising the continuity of MH care. Despite the weaknesses identified by this study, there are signs of a shift in the traditional biomedical logic of health care.