ABSTRACT
Purpose:
To analyze the perception of professionals constituting Family Health Support Centers (FHSC) of a capital in the South Region of Brazil regarding the role of speech-language therapy professionals in primary care (PC).
Method:
This is a qualitative, observational cross-sectional study. All professionals constituting the FHSC who voluntarily agreed to collaborate with the research participated in this study. A semi-structured questionnaire was applied containing information about the professional profile and activities developed in PC.
Results:
Health professionals perform actions that would allow for the joint participation of speech-language therapy professionals, since this category is not contemplated in the staff members that constitute the municipality team analyzed. According to the questionnaire, referrals to speech-language therapy professionals are mainly related children issues with speech and language. Little knowledge on the contribution of speech-language sciences regarding interdisciplinary actions was found.
Conclusion:
The participants of this study demonstrated a reductionist perception regarding speech-language sciences in PC. In addition, the actions performed by the professionals of this study are directed towards what the speech-language professional could contribute instead. Further studies could demonstrate the benefits that speech-language professionals can provide to the activities performed.
Keywords
Health Promotion; Speech-Language Sciences; Primary Health Care; Family Health; Health Personnel