Brazilian Health Sector Reform: a review of political actors and action strategies

ABSTRACT

This article aims to analyze the scientific production on the Brazilian Health Sector Reform Movement, seeking to characterize the actors involved and the strategies adopted. To that end, a systematic review of articles indexed in the Capes Journal Portal, in SciELO, and in the Virtual Health Library was carried out. The results show the diversity of views on actors that are considered members of the ‘health movement’. The Brazilian Center for Health Studies (Cebes) is the most analyzed actor, but some productions draw specific attention to other organizations. The protagonism of each of these actors varies in each article and also depends on the historical moment analyzed. In relation to the strategies, both the occupation of spaces in the state apparatus and the production and dissemination of proposals related to the defense of the universal right to health, and the various aspects of the construction of the Unified Health System stand out. In addition, a gap in the analyzed scientific production was identified, as the authors devote little attention to the characterization of the actors that constitute the ‘movement’, an essential aspect to understand the conflicts and interests involved in the political struggle around the health reform process.

KEYWORDS
Political activism; Health care reform; Policy, health