INTERSECTORALITY AND COMPREHENSIVE CARE: PERCEPTIONS OF FAMILY HEALTH STRATEGY TEAMS ON NETWORK-BASED WORK

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze how Family Health Strategy (FHS) professionals understand and implement network-based work, considering their perceptions of intersectoral collaboration and efforts to address the social determinants of health. This is a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory field study conducted in two FHS units in Santa Luzia, Paraíba, Brazil. Twenty-three professionals with technical and higher education backgrounds answered a questionnaire with open-ended and closed-ended questions between July and September 2026. Descriptive data were organized by absolute and relative frequencies, and open-ended responses were submitted to Bardin's thematic content analysis. The findings revealed understandings ranging from referrals between services to collaborative practices and intersectoral coordination. Social assistance was the sector most often recognized as relevant. Although participants identified the influence of social conditions on health, their accounts differed regarding follow-up strategies and the development of shared interventions. The main challenges were communication difficulties, lack of feedback, fragmented institutional relationships, and working conditions. The study concludes that strengthening intersectoral collaboration depends on continuous communication, joint planning, and shared responsibilities among professionals, services, and management.