Basic Care and Primary Health Care – Origins and conceptual differences

Authors

  • Guilherme Arantes Mello Universidade Federal de São Carlos
  • Bruno José Barcellos Fontanella Universidade Federal de São Carlos
  • Marcelo Marcos Piva Demarzo Universidade Federal de São Carlos

Keywords:

Atenção Primária à Saúde, Serviços Básicos de Saúde, Terminologia, Sistema Único de Saúde, Política de Saúde

Abstract

There is a frequent discussion about the ideal terminology to indicate the first level of the health care system in Brazil. This discussion has special contours as the expression "Basic Care" is the official expression used by the Brazilian government's documents, although nowadays there is also a growing use of "Primary Health Care". This paper discusses the historical origins and conceptual differences on the expressions related to the Basic Care and Primary Health Care, assuming that the rationale and the historical knowledge may both help to clarify the debate and turn better understandable the proposals about this issue in Brazil. The authors conclude that these expressions (including “Primary Care”) may be used as synonyms in most cases, leading to no conceptual problems. However, sometimes the theoretical frameworks used in the texts vary from functionalism to more progressive approaches, particularly opposing the concepts of “Basic Care” and “Primary Health Care” to the “Primary Care”.

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Author Biographies

Guilherme Arantes Mello, Universidade Federal de São Carlos

Professor Assistente do Departamento de Medicina, Núcleo de Medicina de Família e Comunidade, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, UFSCar

Bruno José Barcellos Fontanella, Universidade Federal de São Carlos

Professor Adjunto do Departamento de Medicina, Núcleo de Medicina de Família e Comunidade, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, UFSCar

Marcelo Marcos Piva Demarzo, Universidade Federal de São Carlos

Professor Adjunto do Departamento de Medicina, Núcleo de Medicina de Família e Comunidade, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, UFSCar

Published

2009-06-15

Issue

Section

Artigos de Revisão