Challenges and potentialities of oral health in the Family Health Strategy: An analysis of work processes

Abstract

Oral health was included in the Family Health Program through Ministry of Health Ordinance No. 1444/2000, but only after the publication of the National Oral Health Policy was there a reorganization of oral health practices and actions. This study aimed to identify the main challenges and potential of the oral health work processes within the scope of the Family Health Strategy. This research has a qualitative approach carried out with the Oral Health and Oral Health Coordination Teams in the municipality of Coreaú, Ceará, Brazil, totaling 11 participants. Information was collected between April and August 2019 from a focus group, field diary and semi-structured interviews. Bardin's Content Analysis was used, with triangulation and interpretation of the information defined in five categories: Organization of the work process; health education; inter-professionality and collaborative practice; participatory management and user satisfaction. It was concluded that in the work process the biggest problem is the scheduling of oral health care. The potentialities identified were the insertion of Dentistry in the Family Health Strategy and the integration of the oral health team with the effective interest in transforming practices.