Jacks Soratto

University of the Extreme South of Santa Catarina, Brazil

Abstract Title: Teamwork Challenges in Primary Health Care: A Qualitative Study in a municipality in Southern Brazil

Biography: Jacks Soratto is a Full Professor in the Undergraduate Nursing and Medicine programs and in the Graduate Programs in Public Health and Health Management at the University of the Extreme South of Santa Catarina (UNESC). His research focuses on qualitative studies in health management, comprehensive care, and health education. He has published more than 85 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has supervised over 48 research projects.

Research Interest: Introduction: Primary Health Care (PHC) is grounded in teamwork as one of its structural pillars, particularly within the Family Health Strategy (FHS). However, everyday practice reveals barriers that hinder the consolidation of integrated interprofessional collaboration. Objective: To analyze the main challenges to teamwork from the perspective of professionals working in FHS teams in a municipality in southern Brazil. Methods: This exploratory and descriptive qualitative study involved 69 health professionals (physicians, nurses, dentists, nursing technicians, oral health assistants, and community health workers) from 12 Family Health teams in Criciúma, Santa Catarina. Data were produced through semi-structured interviews and examined using thematic content analysis, guided by Jürgen Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action. Results: Key challenges included insufficient institutional support for collaborative practices, limited time for team meetings, weak alignment between teams and management, fragile communication processes, individualistic work practices, segmentation of professional roles, heavy workload, staff turnover, and structural limitations within health units. These interrelated factors negatively affected care coordination, continuity of care, and the comprehensiveness of health actions. Conclusion: Strengthening teamwork in PHC requires interventions focused on improving communicative processes, enhancing work organization, upgrading structural conditions, and fostering stronger integration between management and health teams. Keywords: Primary Health Care. Family Health Strategy. Teamwork. Interprofessional Work. Qualitative Research. Funding: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina (FAPESC) grant agrément n. 2024TR002229; National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) grant agrément n. 305670/2024-7 and n. 409498/2024-6