[User embracement in the Family Health Strategy in Brazil: an integrative review].
OBJECTIVE
To review the literature regarding the application of the notion of user embracement and to identify the contributions of this concept for primary health care practices in Brazil.


METHODS
We carried out an integrative review of the literature regarding primary health care. The following databases were searched: LILACS, SciELO, and MEDLINE, covering the period from 2006 to 2010. The following search terms were used in LILACS and SciELO: "acolhimento" and "programa saúde da família" and "saúde". For MEDLINE, the terms "user embracement" and "family health program" and "health" were used. The review was performed in November 2010.


RESULTS
We identified 21 articles meeting the inclusion criteria, all of which described studies carried out in Brazil. The articles were divided into three empirical categories: integration and embracement; primary care work process; and evaluation of services. These are complementary categories that converge to two main views of embracement: the first sees embracement as a means of reorganizing the primary health care environment, and the second sees embracement as an attitude towards users. The review also shows that embracement may be a management tool that supports the Unified Health System and is associated with the principles of comprehensiveness and universality.


CONCLUSIONS
Embracement is able to create a bond between health care workers and users. It promotes self-care, a better understanding of disease, as well as user co-responsibility for treatment. In addition, it facilitates universal access, strengthens multiprofessional and intersectoral work, qualifies care, humanizes practices, and encourages actions to combat prejudice. Nevertheless, the perspective of health care users regarding embracement deserves more attention and should be the focus of future studies.
Campus de Botucatu, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brasil, suelenalvesrocha@gmail.com.
Miriane
M
Garuzi
Campus de Botucatu, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brasil, suelenalvesrocha@gmail.com.
Maria Cecília de Oliveira
MC
Achitti
Campus de Botucatu, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brasil, suelenalvesrocha@gmail.com.
Cintia Ayame
CA
Sato
Campus de Botucatu, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brasil, suelenalvesrocha@gmail.com.
Suelen Alves
SA
Rocha
Campus de Botucatu, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brasil, suelenalvesrocha@gmail.com.
Regina Stella
RS
Spagnuolo
D001938:Brazil; D005192:Family Health; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations