The political content of care relates to the disruptive management of the relationship between care and power to build subjects autonomy, expressed by three conceps " knowledge for improved care, care to confront, care to emancipate" . This discussion concerns the controversial or political content of health evaluation, focusing on the power relationships permeating the assessment process. It deals with a theoretical and phylosofical issue with the purpose of : (a to design a theoretical concept of the political nature of care and the threefold emancipation basis of care; b) to discuss the emancipation concepts of assessment from the political nature of care and c) to introduce a methodological reference supporting the assessment of healthcare programs based on the political nature of care, centered on subject autonomy. The intention is to indicate the possible application of the concept of the political nature of care in the scope of healthcare policies, programs and services, signaling towards the emancipation potential required to the implementation of the Universal Healthcare System (SUS - Sistema Universal de Saude). That is, assessment needs to become more democratic and viewed as a tool of citizenship change and empowerment.
Evaluation; Health policy; Peer review; health care