[Working with families within the Family Health Program: nurse's practice in Maringá - Paraná]

The Family Health Program (Programa de Saúde da Familia, PSF) was conceived with the aim of fully assisting families in their social space, which requires a new professional posture. This work had the purpose of investigating the practices with families of the nurses that work in the PSF in the city of Maringá, in the State of Parana. An exploratory descriptive study with qualitative approach was carried out using for data collecting interviews, observation and documental analysis. Data were analyzed according to Bardin theoretical referential. The results revealed three categories in the Nursing practice with families: activities with individuals, activities in the community and activities at family homes. It was concluded that in spite of the fact that nurses consider families in a home context through home visits, data collecting and health education, they still focus on the disease and on the individual. Such approach has not stimulated the participation and autonomy of the families regarding care and the service.