Ways of acting in conflict resolution in primary health care

Abstract

This study examines professionals' ways of acting in the resolution of bioethical conflicts with other professionals in Family Health Strategy teams, based on the Theory of Communicative Action and on Discourse Ethics. For this, a qualitative research was carried out involving observation, interviews and focus group. Faced with a bioethical conflict, some professionals act oriented towards individual success, which allows the conflict to remain latent, thus hindering primary care provision and causing a negative impact on team cohesion. Other professionals, however, use communicative action to seek understandings and agreements aiming at collective success in patient care. Conflicts not resolved between the actors are discussed in team meetings or general meetings, which stimulate team members
to engage in communicative action for conflict resolution.