José Ricardo Guimarães Dos Santos Junior, Stefanie Griebeler Oliveira, Teila Ceolin, Fernanda Eisenhardt de Mello, Sidneia Tessmer Casarin, Franciele Roberta Cordeiro, Vania Dias Cruz, Adrize Rutz Porto
nurses' knowledge and practices are shaped by public policies, especially those directed at the bodies of women and children. They are included in the organization and functioning of programmatic actions, guiding them towards a network-oriented approach.
OBJECTIVES: to analyze the knowledge and practices that constitute primary care nurses in a municipality in southern Brazil.
METHODS: a qualitative, Foucauldian-inspired study was conducted with 31 nurses from Basic Health Units between January and June 2022. Data were managed using ATLAS.ti® software and subjected to content analysis and problematization using Foucault's tools such as knowledge, power, discourse, and subjectivation.
RESULTS: nurses' knowledge and practices are shaped by public policies, especially those directed at the bodies of women and children. They are included in the organization and functioning of programmatic actions, guiding them towards a network-oriented approach.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: nurses act as biopolitical agents, guiding state actions towards managing the population's lives. The overload is a result of the pressure to meet health indicators, multifunctionality, and healthcare computerization. Decentralizing responsibilities common to other team members can minimize this overload.