This paper analyzes the scientific production in primary care in Brazil published in four magazines with wide circulation in the field of Public Health - Cadernos de Saúde Pública, Revista de Saúde Pública, Ciência & Saúde Coletiva and Saúde em Debate - in order to identify the concepts used, the approaches to studies, and the main issues associated with the discussion of primary care. The analysis was based on the understanding of the political and institutional context of health, an attempt to correlate the time of policy with knowledge production. The analysis covered the discussions held in these journals from 1977 to 2006. There was a lack of studies of conceptual approach and many case studies without the promotion of dialogue between authors and institutions, weakening this area as a knowledge producer. This study aims to contribute to a deeper debate on the theoretical model of care focused on primary care and to identify the strength of the proposals, thus contributing to consolidate the field.
primary health care; family health care; knowledge production
