Representações sociais do adoecimento e da cura em usuários do SUS - Rio Tinto - PB.

Abstract

This study discusses the conceptions of sickening and healing of SUS (Sole Health System) users in the rural zone of the municipality of Rio Tinto/PB, some of who act like healing agents. The innovating aspect of this thesis is to show the importance of such agents and the divorce between theory and practice of the public health policies in Brazil. This is an empirical/qualitative research. The results point towards representations of sickening and healing which have more to do with feeling than reasoning, in a construction as from individual and collective experiences in a relationship of much significance with nature. This relationship is reflected in the vision of world and the social relationship among users and among these and health professionals. We have firstly considered that these social representations of sickening and healing are not universal; on the contrary, they are social constructions elaborated by individuals as from the perception and the relationship of each human being with himself, with the others and with the social environment within which he is inserted, his history, his culture and beliefs. Our study also shows that the relationships among space and social organization, ways of life and social values are relevant aspects to think over the relationship among health professionals and SUS users in Brazil. We suppose that the constitutive complexity of the Brazilian society demands health professionals to exercise a continual relationship on the different contexts and users which they come across with in sickening situations.