Dialogic approach to the health needs of insulin users followed up in the Glucose Self-Monitoring Program

This study aims to characterize, through a qualitative research, actions of Primary Care professionals who work in the Glucose Self-Monitoring Program, focusing on the knowledge exchange enabled by the meeting with insulin users enrolled in the program. Twelve users were selected to participate in conversation groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with Program workers at a Primary Care Unit in the city of São Paulo. Under the dialogic approach, the following aspects emerged, among others: the professionals’ persistence in using the biomedical instrumentalism; the role of users’ ways of life in the therapeutic follow-up; and the emergence of the Glucose Self-Monitoring Program as a space for sharing experiences, improving healthcare and supporting insulin therapy. As a result of the analysis, a handbook regarding insulin users’ health needs was developed.