Objective: To evaluate satisfaction and burden of mental health personnel providing mental health services for substance users and their families. Method: Five hundred twenty-seven mental health workers who provide treatment for substance users in five Brazilian states were interviewed. Data on sociodemographic characteristics and measures of satisfaction (SATIS-BR) and burden of mental health personnel (IMPACTO-BR) were collected. Results: Type of mental health service and educational attainment were associated with degree of satisfaction and burden. Therapeutic community workers and those with a primary education level reported being more satisfied with the treatment offered to patients, their engagement in service activities, and working conditions. Workers from psychosocial care centers, psychosocial care centers focused on alcohol and other drugs, and social care referral centers (both general and specialized), as well as workers with a higher education, reported feeling overburdened. Conclusion: This study offers important information regarding the relationship of mental health personnel with their work. Care providers within this sample reported an overall high level of job satisfaction, while perceived burden differed by type of service and educational attainment. To our knowledge, this is the first study with a sample of mental health professionals working with substance users across five Brazilian states.

O atendimento a pacientes em serviços primários de saúde deveria compreender uma avaliação tanto física como psicológica; em muitos casos, o sucesso do tratamento depende da compreensão do indivíduo e de suas interações, em especial de sua interação na família. Portanto, é importante instrumentalizar os profissionais de saúde para que sejam capazes de trabalhar com os indivíduos nesse contexto social. Estudamos três escalas diagnósticas do funcionamento familiar consagradas na literatura internacional (FACES III, Beavers-Timberlawn e GARF), procurando validá-las para uso em nosso meio (Porto Alegre, Brasil). Comparamos os resultados do preenchimento das escalas com a avaliação clínica, feita através de entrevista familiar semi-estruturada, em 31 famílias clínicas. A escala auto-respondida FACES III também foi testada em 102 famílias na comunidade. A escala FACES III mostrou uma correlação linear positiva, porém fraca, entre coesão familiar e risco para doença mental, mas não em relação à adaptabilidade. As escalas BT e GARF demonstraram forte correlação positiva com a avaliação clínica. A escala FACES III não demonstrou ser adequada para uso em triagem de cuidados primários; entretanto, as escalas BT e GARF mostraram-se muito úteis na formulação e classificação do diagnóstico familiar.

Care provided to patients in primary health services should include both a physical and a psychological assessment. In many cases treatment success depends on understanding individuals and their interactions, especially within the family; it is important for health professionals to be trained in this area. We investigated the validity of three well-known diagnostic scales of family functioning from the United States of America (FACES III, Beavers-Timberlawn, and GARF) for use in our setting in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The three scales were used with 31 families and compared to the results from clinical evaluations (semistructured family interviews), which were considered the gold standard. FACES III was also used with a sample of 102 families in the community. The Beavers-Timberlawn and GARF scales were strongly and positively correlated with the clinical evaluations. In contrast, our results suggest that FACES III is not a useful screening tool in primary care to detect the risk of psychiatric disorders. The Beavers-Timberlawn and GARF instruments showed great usefulness for formulating and classifying diagnoses of family functioning.