Evaluating child healthcare in the context of Family Healthcare in the city of Teixeiras, Minas Gerais (MG, Brazil)

The scope of this study was to analyze child healthcare in the Family Healthcare Program (FHP) in Teixeiras, MG, Brazil. A descriptive transversal study was conducted by applying a questionnaire to 161 mothers of children under 2 years of age. A specific score system was used to analyze the dimensions of structure, process and result and the respective attributes, classifying the town in the incipient, intermediary and advanced categories. The FHP was classified in the intermediary (49.6%) category, characterized by fragmented child healthcare, though with some advances in the organization of care for this group. The physical installations, the quality of care given to control of diarrhea and respiratory infection, community participation and interdisciplinarity were considered incipient. Progress was seen in receptivity to the program, though the scant preventive and promotional activities of the FHP means that it is viewed as an annex to the hospital and merely another place for medical care. The activities of the FHP in child healthcare are not in line with the proposal for reorientation of the hegemonic healthcare model for which it was created, thereby hampering disease prevention strategies and the promotion of healthcare.