ABSTRACT
Objective:
to evaluate how primary healthcare professionals develop preventive activities to avoid chronic complications in people with diabetes mellitus.
Methods:
complex Thought and evaluation research were used as the theoretical and methodological frameworks, respectively. The study was carried out in a medium-sized city in the South region of Brazil. Thirty-five healthcare professionals and three managers participated in the investigation. Data were collected through interviews, observation and analysis of medical records. The software ATLAS.ti and data triangulation were used to analyze the data.
Results:
prevention was construed as an activity dissociated from the care practice; the attributed concept was neither clear nor distinct from other definitions in the healthcare field; care prioritized healing actions to the detriment of preventive ones; and the mentioned prevention was oriented to meeting goals and organizing campaigns established by regulatory agencies.
Conclusion:
prevention in the care to people with Diabetes Mellitus in primary health care was fragmented and disconnected from a type of care that would consider the comprehensiveness needed in this process and enable preventive actions.
DESCRIPTORS:
Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes complications; Primary health care; Evaluation of healthcare services