Estudo de caso

ARTIGO / ARTICLE

Cidadania, Participação Popular e Saúde na Visão dos
Profissionais do Setor: Um Estudo de Caso na Rede Pública de
Serviços 1
Citizenship, Community Participation, and Health As Seen by Health
Care Professionals: A Case Study in Public Health Services
Maria Lúcia M. Bosi 2
BOSI, M. L. M. Citizenship, Community Participation, and Health As Seen by Health Care
Professionals: A Case Study in Public Health Services. Cad. Saúde Públ., Rio de Janeiro, 10
(4): 446-456, Oct/Dec, 1994.
This paper deals with the subject of citizenship and people’s participation in the health area through an analysis of ideas pertaining to a specific group: health care professionals working in
Basic Health Care Clinics in the 3.1 Programatic Area of the City of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
The article analyzes their views on the subject and presents them in light of health-related legislation in the Brazilian constitution. It also analyzes the professionals’ role vis-à-vis users in raising community awareness that health care is one of their basic rights.
Field data from qualitative social research methodology showed a significant heterogeneity in the professionals’ conceptions, dividing them into two groups: those belonging to teaching institutions and those working in institutions providing health care.
This analysis shows the strategic role that day-to-day relationships between professionals and the community can play in the social change process and the establishment of social rights. It also discusses the viability of this process in view of the discovery of the subjective involvement of the health professionals who promote this process.
Key words: Health Professionals; Health Care; Citizenship; Community Participation

INTRODUÇÃO
A Declaração de Direitos que compõe a atual Constituição Brasileira a caracteriza como um dos mais avançados textos constitucionais do mundo, particularmente no que se refere ao conjunto de direitos sociais que