The article presents the results of a qualitative research, whose objective is to determine the extent to which teamwork in family health fosters and the participation of the community in a health project. Empirical material was obtained by means of a semi-structured interview with workers and advisors of a Health Unit in the Eastern zone of the Municipality of São Paulo, and from official documents from the Secretariat of Health of the Municipality of São Paulo, in the period of 2001 and 2002. The technique of content analysis and the following analytical categories were utilized: participation, social control, teamwork, and health-disease process. The interviews show three different dimensions about participation: the right to health and citizenship; the existence of assistencial services, and the need of capacitation of the members of the health councils. There are two notions for social control, i. e., auditing and partnership. Health workers emphasize teamwork, but they do not include the users in the dynamics of the teamwork and in the planning of actions. Advancements in the participation and in teamwork still do not guarantee the construction of a common health project, which should be the focus of the next step.
Community participation; Family Health Program; Teamwork; Health-disease process; Social Control Policies