Abstract

Introduction

Decentralization of health surveillance required municipalities to reorganize work processes. While bringing the service closer to the territory, it also raised challenges in formulating intervention proposals on health problems.

Objective

to analyze the work process of professionals who perform health surveillance actions in Brazil.

Method

This is a literature scoping review study. The search strategy included health databases, Google Scholar, and reference lists for articles published between 2000 and 2016. Searches were conducted in April 2017 by two researchers separately. The sample consists of 38 studies.

Results

Five categories emerged: decentralization of surveillance actions, health surveillance and networking, educational processes, territorial analysis, and social participation. The decentralized process approached the surveillance of the territory and the community, favoring its anticipatory capacity, the intersectoral work, and the action adjusted to the problems. However, this approach is still a challenge for the construction of the surveillance as a network, based on the primary care through a territorial analysis. The answer to this challenge demands processes of permanent education and the participative compromise of the community and social control.

Conclusion

The decentralization requires united actions of the professionals of surveillance and attendance, having as focus the territory, intersectoral actions, and social participation.

Keywords:
public health surveillance; primary health care; workflow; unified health system