Trajetórias de homens em busca do cuidado em saúde: desafios para a atenção primária em um contexto rural

This study aims to understand the path of men in seeking health care. The ultimate goal is to propose actions that contribute to overcoming barriers that keep men, in the study context, away from the primary care unit. The approach was qualitative. Twenty men, aged 20 to 59 years old, living in Laranjal village, located in Arapiraca / AL, were interviewed. Among these twenty, ten men used the primary care service in 2018 and the other ten did not use this service in this period. From the discussion of the interview results, supported by the enunciation analysis, it is pointed out that these men do not have a defined trajectory; often resort to self-medication, make their own assessment of the importance of their clinical situation, and seek professional care, whether at the Basic Health Unit or the hospital when they identify worsening of symptoms. The idea of prevention is almost absent from the lines. The Basic Health Unit does not develop any strategy to include them in its service routine, which needs to be changed to increase its effectiveness in health care for this population group.