More Doctors Program: mapping and analysis of academic production in the period 2013-2016 in Brazil

Abstract

With the purpose of strengthening Primary Health Care (PHC) in Brazil, the More Doctors Program  (PMM) was created in 2013, structured around three  strategic axes. This study aimed to analyze the  scientific production in the PMM, identifying the  relevance of the studies and their effects to the policy  and elaborating a synthesis of the main themes. The results showed that 55% of studies focused on the ‘emergency doctors provision’ axis, 32% presented  general policy assessments, 4% focused on  provision/infrastructure and only 9% focused on  training. Of the articles selected, 22 were considered  of high and medium relevance. Furthermore, 32 publications identified the effects of the PMM (29  identified positive effects; and, in only 3, positive and  negative effects were equivalent). In the thematic analysis, the following stand out: equity, efficacy,  professional training, PMM implementation, work  practices and processes, media approach and PMM  political analysis. Of an extensive nature, the analyzes  pointed out clues about the directionality of the  Program, its weaknesses and needs that are required  for a research agenda for the coming years.