[Assessment of sanitation and housing conditions: the importance of home visits in the Family Health Program context].

Knowledge of health-related environmental conditions - such as basic sanitation and housing - are of singular importance for establishing measures designed to upgrade the quality of life at the individual, family and community levels. Through home visits, this paper evaluates families enrolled in the Family Health Program (FHP) in Teixeiras, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, including their housing and basic sanitation conditions. A transverse observational study, its semi-structured questionnaire was applied to 10% (n=364) of the families enrolled in this Program. The net water supply coverage reached 83% of homes in urban areas and 11.7% in rural areas. The public water supply was the final disposal point for the water used in 82.2% of urban dwellings and 10.9% of rural homes. Home visits offer inside glimpses into the lives of the beneficiaries of this Program, particularly in view of the unequal distribution of the sanitation infrastructure between urban and rural areas, constituting an important tool for the Family Health Strategy, by helping identify the key factors in the health x disease processes noted in the settings within which these families live, and paving the way to better health through Health Education.