Integrality constitutes an important principle of the SUS, achieved through the struggles of the Brazilian health movement. It represents an expansion of the concepts of health and illness, to include the social determinants of healthcare needs. Intending to investigate the meanings of integrality reported by primary care workers, a study was developed in a medium-sized municipality in the state of São Paulo, concerning distinct technological work organization models in primary healthcare units. Among the results, the dimension of system integrality appeared with greatest frequency, according to analysis on focus groups. The workers pointed out difficulties in integration and communication between the healthcare levels, determined by selective social policies and medium/high-technology services delegated to the private market. The theoretical-philosophical framework of this study was based on cultural-historical psychology, taking into consideration the categories of work/activity, consciousness, mediation and totality.
Integrality; Primary health care; Cultural-historical psychology; Social policies; Work