Objective.
To describe the effects of the More Doctors Program (PMM) on the health of indigenous groups in the Alto Rio Solimões Special Indigenous Sanitary District in Brazil.
Methods.
The present descriptive study was based on individual interviews with health care professionals and users, direct field observation, and analysis of health records and secondary health care data.
Results.
Forty-four health care professionals and 30 users were interviewed. The study showed that PMM brought about a stable supply of physicians, predominantly Cuban, reorganization of work by health care teams, improved recording of actions linked to specific programs, and improvement in pre-natal care indicators.
Conclusions.
Implementation of the PMM and the presence of Cuban physicians allowed advances in the National Indigenous Health Care Policy, with results that could be observed even in the short term, despite the remaining challenges associated with cultural aspects and with the comprehensiveness and sustainability of health care. It is recommended that the experience developed in the PMM be further analyzed and disseminated in other contexts, especially in the training of health care professionals.