Consórcio intermunicipal de saúde: um estudo em representações sociais

Abstract

The Intermunicipal Consortia of Health represent for majority of the Brazilian municipal districts, as a tool of necessary administration to the attendance of the actions by responsibility of those federative entities. Those municipal districts, in an individualized way, would have difficulties in attending the demands generated by their residents, once the professionals of several specialties, of average and high complexity, and not available by the Unique System of Health (SUS) are insufficient in those places. Therefore, the consortia of health become aggregator spaces of perspectives of a group of individuals which bring with them the most different needs captured in the ambit of their communities. Thus, we have sought, through the theory of Social Representations, to identify and to comprehend the elements that compose the social representations of the managers of the municipal districts that are associated to the Intermunicipal Consortium of Health of the West Region of Mato Grosso. We have analyzed the interrelation among those elements that supposedly make possible for those managers to unite their financial and human efforts in the best expectation to assist their municipalities. The data were collected in a period of six months, through interviews, field observations and analysis of documents. By a direct way, have participated of this research eight (8) mayors, two (2) administrative managers of the consortium, one (1) contracted professional of the area of health and one of the founders of the consortium. After content analysis, it was identified that the managers conceive the consortium as a space of debate and dispute, therefore, quite conflicting. However, for most of them, those conflicts are necessary and legitimate the actions of the consortium. The informers consider that the interests in that social space are diverse, besides, of political-ideological character; nevertheless, they believe that although those interests cause conflicts, the democratic principle is respected and materialized in the decisions by the vote of the majority. Dialogue and Equality are common representations for all of the participants and they conceive these things as primordial in the inter-relationship of the ones who are involved direct or indirectly in the consortium. The consortium is seen as a space of union and partnership, but at the same time, it is divergent, and a space of conflict.