A institucionalização do controle social na saúde pública: o caso da Região de Canindé

Abstract

Social Control consists of practices of State surveillance and control by the society. The Social Control of the Sistema Único de Saúde’s management is regulated by Law no.8.142 of February 28th, 1990. Such law states that each sphere of the government counts on two other collegiate bodies: The Conferência de Saúde (The Health Board) and The Conselhos de Saúde (Health Committee). The Institutional Theory checks how such practices and patterns acquire means of values and how such values are legitimated in social structures, result of the convergence of theoretical influences, especially the Political Science, Sociology and Economics. Tolbert e Zucker (2010) structure an institutionalization model in three different stages that correspond to the three stages of the same process. The first stage, Pre-institutional, corresponds to the stage of habitualization; the second stage, Semi-institutional, corresponds to the stage of objectification; and the third stage, Full Institutionalization, corresponds to the stage of sedimentation. This paper aims to analyze the process of institutionalization of social control of health in the municipalities of the health region of Canindé. About the methodological aspects, this is a qualitative and descriptive research. To achieve this data, eighteen members of the municipal health councils of the municipalities of the health region of Canindé were interviewed. As to the analysis of the interview data, we developed a content analysis. Results show different stages of the institutionalization process, occurring simultaneously, focused specially upon the habitualization stage. It was also identified similarities in the structures used by the health committees of the different municipalities as an important factor in the institutionalization process.