The evaluative limits and possibilities in the Family Health Strategy for gender-based violence

The study aimed to understand the evaluative limits and possibilities of the Family Health Strategy (FHS) in acknowledging and confronting the health needs of women experiencing gender-based violence. This was a case study with a qualitative approach, conducted in a Basic Health Unit that operated under the FHS in Sao Paulo (SP). Data were collected through interviews with health professionals of the multidisciplinary teams, and women users of the service who experienced gender-based violence. The results were analyzed according to the analytical categories: gender, gender-based violence and health needs. Medicalization was seen as the most significant limitation of professional practice. Moreover, there were opportunities related to the bond afforded by the logic of attention brought by the FHS. Such possibilities, however, were still curtailed by the limitations of the biomedical model and the absence of specific technologies to deal with violence.