The author analyzes the relationships between health research, health policies and equity in Latin America. He describes new trends in the mode of knowledge production that enhance the integration between social needs and research, facilitating the ties between research and the policy making process. The author also analyzes the manifestations of these new trends in Latin America, and describes some initiatives promoted by the PAHO aimed to take advantage of the opportunities opened by these trends to improve health conditions in the region. Throughout the article the author defends the thesis that information and knowledge are essential public goods and that the inequities in the access of these public goods are important determinants of health inequities. He also sustains that in order to integrate health policies and health research policies and consolidate them as public policies geared to serve the public interest and the promotion of equity, it is necessary to strengthening the democratic process in the definition of these policies, by multiplying the actors involved, as well as the spaces and opportunities for interaction among them, and by supporting their participation with equitable access to pertinent information and scientific knowledge.
Equity; Research; Knowledge; Social participation; Health policy; Latin America
