OBJECTIVE:

to assess the process and structural aspects of child care visits at the Family Health Strategy, in relation to growth monitoring.

METHODS:

evaluative study of implementation analysis, carried out in two municipalities of Paraíba State, Brazil; structural characteristics of the services were assessed and child care visits were observed for analysis of the working process.

RESULTS:

119 visits (53 in one municipality and 66 in the other) were observed; they were conducted by 18 nurses who were in charge of child care visits (nine from each municipality); five of the nurses had no training to work in primary health care and four units did not have a scale; weight (84.9%), height (84.0%) and cephalic perimeter (82.7%) measurements were held more frequently than recommendations for mothers (11.8% and 29.4% of the visits about height and weight, respectively).

CONCLUSION:

child growth monitoring is an action not yet consolidated, with significant deficiencies in the process.

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