Planning and support in the work process of PHC teams in the Northeast: analysis of the PMAQ-AB (3rd cycle)

This paper aims to describe the indicators related to planning and support in the work process reported by the Family Health Teams, from the 3rd cycle of the National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care (PMAQ-AB) in the Brazilian Northeast. This cross-sectional study employed secondary data from the external evaluation of the 3rd cycle of the PMAQ-AB. Sixteen indicators were used to ascertain the teams' work process actions, and 14,489 family health teams that adhered to the program were evaluated. Among the indicators assessed, we found that the teams held a meeting and planned actions and self-evaluated, monitored, and analyzed health indicators to reorganize the work process, highlighting the determining and conditioning factors. Health surveillance and the Extended Family Health Center (NASF) stand out in the indicators of institutional support and multidisciplinary support for solving complex cases. We identified improvements in the work process of the teams in the Northeast region, but the reality of fragmented and vertical work still requires a change to promote an outlook of shared teamwork, directly influencing the work process.