New discourses about healthcare in the context of the Unified Healthcare System have demanded a more critical view of self-care. This is a qualitative study with its theoretical background based on social constructionism theory. The objective was to describe meanings of self-care constructed in community groups which are part of the Family Healthcare Program in Brazil. The data collection occurred during 2001, totaling 28 participants with an average age of 50 years old. The conversations were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed, giving visibility to their versions of self-care. The analysis, based on social construction, amplified these meanings of self-care, enhancing reflection about their complexity and broadening necessities, which go beyond simple adherence to a prescribed medication. Dialogue and the focus on relationships are presented as transformative resources for the practices of care and self-care, making possible the construction of actions in a perspective of integrality and co-responsibility.
Self care; Group processes; Primary health care