What do Professionals Have to Say About the Demand and Humanization of Health Services

Humanization of Primary Health Care Services depends mostly on the resolution of the health needs and on the consequen organization of demand. OBJECTIVE: The article searches to know the implications of demand to the humanization of Primary Health Care practices. METHODOLOGY: It is an exploratory research with qualitative approach. The empirical universe was formed by 10 professionals: 1 manager; 1 physician; 1 dentist; 2 nurses, 3 nursing technicians; 1 reception attendant; 1 stockroom commissioner. Data were collected through 8 meetings in which discussion focused on themes such as humanization policy, right to health, integrality, users' reception, subjectivity in health, work processes. The discussions have been recorded and a transcription was made. Analysis of data was done through discourse analysis. RESULTS: As results, three linguistic repertories were found linked with the demand: the understanding of health needs; the understanding of users' reception as screening and application of protocols; the influence of the biomedical model in the organization of the services. The excessive demand and the lack of resolution are linked to the understanding of heath needs simply as access to technology, and of users' reception simply as screening of symptoms. Nurses claim that excessive demand is due to users always wanting to be seen by a physician, which can be explained by the health care culture created by the biomedical model which is also adopted by professionals when they understand health needs and the users' reception in the biomedical perspective.