title: Assessment of primary health care: health professionals' perspective.
abstract: Objective To assess primary health care attributes of access to a first contact, comprehensiveness, coordination, continuity, family guidance and community orientation. Method An evaluative, quantitative and cross-sectional study with 35 professional teams in the Family Health Program of the Alfenas region, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Data collection was done with the Primary Care Assessment Tool - Brazil, professional version. Results Results revealed a low percentage of medical experts among the participants who evaluated the attributes with high scores, with the exception of access to a first contact. Data analysis revealed needs for improvement: hours of service; forms of communication between clients and healthcare services and between clients and professionals; the mechanism of counter-referral. Conclusion It was concluded that there is a mismatch between the provision of services and the needs of the population, which compromises the quality of primary health care.
authors.affiliation: Nursing School, Federal University of Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Simone Albino da
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Nursing School, Federal University of Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denismar Alves
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.affiliation: Nursing School, University of Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Camila Maria da Silva
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Paraizo
authors.affiliation: Department of Collective Health Nursing, School of Nursing, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lislaine Aparecida
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Fracolli