The health care model: concepts and challenges for primary health care in Brazil.

This is a theoretical reflection aiming to highlight the conceptual debate about the health care model and the challenges for primay health care in Brazil. The study characterizes different concepts and terminologies relating to the expression 'care model' and shows that the Family Health Strategy has improved access to health care, and also including user reception and humanization perspectives in health practices. However, one still sees: a centralizing attitude in the treatment of pathologies, and care focused on the biological body; difficulties in implementing comprehensive care; and deficits in training of teams, and in working conditions and relations. The study concludes that the term 'care model' is interpreted as polysemic and that, although there are structuring proposals and policies for a model that can make progress in relation to the biomedical paradigm, the difficulties for its implementation are significant.