Um olhar sobre a participação dos conselheiros usuários no Conselho Municipal de Saúde de Serra/ES

Abstract

This study seeks to comprehend the participation of council members who represented the users´ class on the Municipal Health Council of Serra, Espirito Santo, during the period of years 2006-2008. The objective is to trace the profile of these council members; to verify their participation / representation as council members; identify the comprehension of the council member about the importance, difficulty and advantages of his or her involvement on this Municipal Council (CMSS); and to understand the perception of the council member about his or her contribution toward health services in the County of Serra. Methodologically, this is a case study of a qualitative nature. In the field semi-structured interviews were utilized. Data collected from interviews with six council members was analyzed by using the Collective Subject Discourse (CSD) technique. Observation and document analyses were also used. As to the results of research, one can observe that council members belong to a differentiated group in their community. They belong to associations and participate on other councils. We perceive that the representation of these council members is fragile. There are many factors that contribute to this. Their participation is figurative, basically monitoring funds and giving attention to emergency requirements of health administrators. In their perception of the difficulties they have with participation, they mention difficulties with executives, and difficulties with the lack of commitment of other members of the tri-partisan council. They admit that they see no advantages in participating on this municipal council since it is volunteer work. However, among them, some declare that it does open many doors. Participation on the Municipal Health Council of Serra provides opportunities for learning, the exercise of citizenship and the struggle for human rights. As to the efficacious of the Municipal Health Council of Serra in health care, they declare it to be very timid.