Narratives of emotional distress in Primary Care in Brazil: contributions to a comprehensive and culturally sensitive Global Mental Health approach

Global Mental Health authors advocate on the one hand, for increased access to mental health care, including the use of standardized interventions. On the other, patients’ symptomatic expression of emotional distress hampers its identification by Primary Care professionals in Brazil. This affects the provision of care and demands culturally sensitive approaches. In order to understand patients’ perception of their emotional distress and of the care provided in Primary Health Care, a narrative qualitative method was adopted, involving data collection in groups in waiting rooms and the use of a script based on the McGill Illness Narrative Interview. We performed content analysis and found out that restricting communication of distress is associated with limited access to care. To face this limitation, strategies are suggested to guide the structuring of care that is both comprehensive and culturally sensitive.