Common field of expertise of professionals in the Family Health Strategy in Brazil: a scenario construction

This study aims to systematize and analyze knowledge and practices that are part of the common field of action extended teams of the Family Health Strategy (ESF). This qualitative study sought to obtain information through open interviews and workshops of knowledge production, with 23 professionals, from March to August 2011, in Fortaleza city. The common ground is the area of sharing, socialization practices and knowledge among workers that make up the primary health care in Brazil, or professional teams from the ESF, including the Support Center for Family Health. It is composed largely by knowledge and practices of Public Health, but also other knowledge, such as clinic and rehabilitation healthcare, and the contributions of several fields, such as geography, pedagogy and popular education. The essential knowledge and practices of the common field of ESF were consolidated into ten groups. The interface between the work of different professionals is a complex issue, because the main responsibilities of each professional are increasingly related. There are several actions that are common to many professions, some are complementary and others are very much intertwined. What will make it possible to establish a common field of activity is the existence of a democratic debate on the team. This process is gradual, lacks agreement, cannot be solved only in the legal dispute, vertically defining this interface. It is a field in constant construction, as new professions are being incorporated into the ESF, bringing new knowledge and new practices.