Implementación de la atención primaria de salud en Paraguay en tres periodos de gobierno: dimensiones políticas, sociales y técnicas observadas en el nivel subnacional

Abstract

Objective: The study hopes to contribute to the analysis of political, technical and social dimensions and sub-dimensions that affect the processes of adjustments to the health system model based on the renewed PHC (Primary Health Care) strategy, at the regional (meso) and local levels. (micro), levels where problems and obstacles are externalized and institutional capacity gaps are verified, in contexts of changes in political leadership, which put their sustainability at risk. The observation included three government periods (2008-2012, 2012- 2013 and 2013-2018), in two departments of Paraguay (Misiones -rural- and Central -urban-).

Methods: Qualitative research on the implementation of public health policy in Paraguay, aimed at promoting improvements in health services in specific contexts, through case studies, complemented with a documentary review. It explores macro, meso, and micro health processes, disaggregated in their political, social, and technical dimensions, to trace the PHC management profile over time. Directors, managers, and professionals in the field of health with experience, commitment, adherence, and prior knowledge were interviewed, using a priori analysis categories. The data and selection of discursive fragments were processed with the Atlas Ti software and auxiliary matrices in Excel.

Results: Social changes and health outcomes are perceived in the study regions, despite financial restrictions and no flexibility of public spending on health attributed to the leadership and individual performance of health workers, which establish differences in terms of empowerment, cohesion and commitment in the development of the strategies outlined by the technical teams and decision-makers responsible for the implementation of policy lines in primary health care.

Conclusions: There are technological limitations, asymmetries of the information subsystems that translate into management weaknesses, as well as little community participation in the design and evaluation of health plans. Coordination weaknesses and improvement plans were detected in operating units of the regional networks, as well as. different training modalities. The availability of specialists in family medicine is low.