Comprehensive health care for adolescents and young people from the perspective of primary care professionals, San Pablo, Brazil.

Abstract

Comprehensiveness is a globally recommended principle for effective health care, particularly for adolescents and young people, whose needs combine biomedical aspects with sociocultural processes of subjectivity construction and citizenship exercise. However, significant challenges hinder its effective implementation. This study aims to identify the aspects of work carried out in primary health care units in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, that professionals perceive as facilitators or obstacles to providing comprehensive health care for adolescents and young people. This qualitative study, conducted between January and November 2023, involved workplace observations and semi-structured interviews with 73 health professionals. The findings highlight the predominance of decontextualized, fragmented, and prescriptive actions within a context of resource shortages and weak intersectoral coordination. The study underscores the need for adolescents and young people to participate as rights-bearing subjects in the development of intersectoral health actions and policies.