Permanent education in family health strategy: challenges of training processes in health

Created by the Ministry of Health, the ongoing health training is a strategy to transform the training processes geared towards the needs of the Public Health System, considering that its great difficulty lies in the lack of qualified professionals and the consolidation of training processes in the area. The study describes the development process of an ongoing training strategy in the routine of health facilities of a medium-sized municipality in southern region of Brazil. This is a quantitative and qualitative cross-sectional study conducted in 14 health facilities focused on family health, with the convenience sample of 208 professionals working with the family health strategy. The data were collected with a semi-structured questionnaire. Data analysis revealed that the ongoing health training is often used for staff meetings, discussions about referrals, and the distribution of work. This proposal prevents reflection on professional practice, the exchange of experiences, the reorganization of health services, and the team's commitment to change the health care paradigm. Thus, the ongoing training, which should contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of the Public Health System, is still an insufficient strategy for health reform.