The production of care in psychosocial care services: home visits as an intervention technology to be used in the territory

Abstract

Home visits are a technology used in mental health services to address individuals with mental distress and their families. The intent is to analyze different types of knowledge and professional practices related to home visits, grounded on the analytical framework provided by the Psychiatric Reform’s dimensions, namely: theoretical-conceptual, technical assistance, legal-political, and sociocultural. This case study with a qualitative approach was conducted in a Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS) located in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Observation and semi-structured interviews were held with workers and later analyzed from a critical hermeneutic perspective. The results show the territory covered by the service is acknowledged as a social space in which individuals are allowed to express their experience/suffering and a place where care is produced. Home visits require the reorganization of work processes and the development of deinstitutionalization strategies, which in turn promote the patients’ autonomy and contractual power. There are, however, challenges to be overcome, such as insufficient human resources and a lack of material resources. Additionally, workers have to deal with urban violence and impediments to cultural change in the way society deals with mental illness. Home visits are essential within CAPS as a strategy to dismantle the traditional asylum apparatus.

Key words
Mental Health; House Calls; Mental Health Services