Objective: Analysing the concepts of Continuous Health Education - CHE (EPS - in Portuguese), operated by municipal managers and translated into official documents.
Method: Qualitative research with the use of official documents and semi-structured interviews with the Municipal Health Secretaries or Coordinators of Primary Health Care in the Northeast Region of São Paulo State, and thematic analysis of empirical material.
Results: Results indicate difficulties in the municipalities problematizing their management practices, services and health care; EPS tools presented are insufficient and unsatisfactory for amending the array of problems raised and are still far from the routine of Primary Care services.
Conclusion: Despite efforts to implement EPS actions for the strengthening of primary care, the process appears to be incipient.