The Health Cycle Project deals with an intersectoral partnership between the Center of Health Promotion (CEDAPS), the Vale Foundation, more than 20 Brazilian municipal governments distributed in four states and the Master Program in Family Health of the Estácio de Sá University.

The project aims to train Primary Care units through technologies and practices in health promotion as well as to promote the improvement of the physical conditions of the units and the work processes of the health units. Considering these goals, we understand that propositive health teams, with a broad knowledge of public policies, especially in the field of Collective Health and Primary Care, are always capable of promoting improvements in the quality of life and health of local populations. For this, it is fundamental that they develop competencies for participatory planning, the execution and planning of health actions at the local level.

The methodology of the project is developed from a set of the measures divided into five major stages:

The preparation: with the primary survey and the pre-selection of health units;

The agreements: developed from technical visits, signature of the terms of cooperation and construction of the baseline for follow-up;

The primary cycle: realisation of core workshops face-to-face, the core course of the Virtual Learning Environment (AVA) and the transfer of instruments;

The follow-up: using health promotion and education workshops and courses at AVA.

The finalisation: with the regional conclusion meeting and the evaluation and closing of the extension course.

The Cycle, which has been extended in partnership with the Master's Degree Program since 2014, has already received the support of the program's teachers, as well as the involvement of students as scholarship holders and consultants, enabling the construction of the teaching-learning process based on experiences. Since the beginning of the activities, the team has already produced 80 reports of visits and workshops, 32 technical reports, two newsletters, 50 workshops and free courses, as well as publications of experience reports and approval of abstracts at national and international congresses and scientific events.