[Primary care and the power of the health system to solve problems: a study from the professionals' view-point].
OBJECTIVE
To identify professionals' view of the problem-solving capacity of primary care in the health system.


METHODS
Interpretative study, based on the Grounded Theory method and the focus-group technique.


METHODS
Eight primary care centres.


METHODS
In all, 198 professionals: 86 physicians, 69 nurse and 43 who were not health professionals.


METHODS
Data were obtained by: open questions in the focus groups, recording and transcription of the contributions; division of the text into autonomous sense units; sense units grouped by their common characteristics; inductive definition of each category; relationship between categories and triangulation of inter-team data.


RESULTS
The problem-solving capacity of professionals should be characterized by: care for the bio-psycho-social demands and needs of the population; the integration of the following dimensions of professional competence: communication and teamwork; the promotion of prevention and public education. However, health-care daily practice prioritised quantitative parameters linked to reactive actions that were distant from the singularity of patients' pathologies.


CONCLUSIONS
The desired problem-solving capacity of primary health care is threatened by excessive quantitative measurement, by shortcomings in human resources and facilities, and by the well-known lack of time in health-care delivery.
Clèries Costa
Xavier
X
Institut d'Estudis de la Salut, Balmes 132-136, 08008 Barcelona, Spain. fx.cleries@gencat.net
Sarrado Soldevila
Joan Josep
JJ
López Vicente
Pau
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D010820:Physicians; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011340:Problem Solving; D011361:Professional Competence; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013997:Time Factors; D000078329:Workforce
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