Participação dos trabalhadores na elaboração das políticas de saúde

Abstract

This research aimed to study the assessment of the participation of the labor force leaders in collaboration with Health Policies. It analyses such participation in forums and debates already set up, such as Health Councils and Health Conferences, in the three court levels. It also verifies the existence of other ways of participation and how they have happened. It searches for the importance of institutional spaces in order to express the demands of the workers’ health. Since the study involves social categories and points out the daily routine of the participation through the social praxis, the qualitative approach showed as a good option for investigation. Through discourse analysis methodology or sense production (SPINK, 2000). Eight labor force leaders were interviewed, who participated, at that time, to the Workers’ Only Central’s (CUT’s) Health Meeting, since they are tuned to the subject and they know the fields of participation. Following the methodology, a map of association of ideas was elaborated, which shows the meaning given by the labor force leaders to the categories of analysis. After using the methodology and analyzing the data, we verified that such labor force leaders have a conception of health as strength and will for work and also for leisure, which is associated to a physical, psychic, social and spiritual well-being. For them, the SUS (stands for: Health Only System) is considered a very good health system, for being universal and based on the principle of integrity, but it is still hard to practice due to financial and management problems. They mention the participation within the political arena as important, though insipient and they are developing other participative practices besides the ongoing ones.