Family and community orientation in children’s primary healthcare

This article seeks to identify the principle of family and community orientation in Family Health Units, relating to care for the health of children under the age of 10. It is a quantitative, assessment study of 344 family members and/or carers of children under the age of 10, served in the 53 Family Health units of the 3rd (‘IIIrd’) Health District of the city of João Pessoa, Brazil. The data were collected based on the Family Orientation and Community Orientation variables present in the children’s version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool – Brasil. Analysis took the form of simple frequency distribution statistics. Average scores for the components analyzed were between 3.7 and 5.7, lower than the level of 6.6 which is determined for these attributes to be oriented to primary healthcare. There is a weak orientation of the attributes Family Orientation and Community Orientation in the primary care of the services evaluated, and this indicates a need for a full approach to the child, with macro- and micro-political conceptions by those planning and managing healthcare, to ensure that children get full and effective healthcare.

Family; primary healthcare; Family Health; child