Saúde bucal sem fronteiras: diplomacia da saúde e saúde bucal nos países da região de fronteira brasileira

Abstract

The Global Health Diplomacy (GHD) is a tool to promote global and national health that, through partnerships between nations and international organizations (IO), improves equity and generates international health cooperation (IHC) to solve common health problems. The consolidation of the GHD concept is based on the understanding that health is a common good of society and goes beyond the physical borders of countries. In this sense, the importance of GHD knowledge in oral health (OH) is highlighted because this theme presents gaps in the literature. The objective of this research was to analyze the GHD, within the scope of the IHC, between countries and the territory of the Brazilian frontier region, under the OH approach. We chose Bibliographic and documentary research, comparative, with quantitative and qualitative approach, exploratory, descriptive and explanatory. Grounded Theory was the methods utilized to analysis of the informations. Official national documents and IO documents dealing with the health systems and policies of OH constituted the empirical corpus of research. The IHC initiatives under the OH consist of bilateral agreements between three countries with Cuba to provide human resources. Two IHC initiatives with IO offer OH attention to school-age children. The implementation of health services with shared funding in the border region is under discussion. This is a slow process because it involves many actors, different ideologies and health systems with different sources of funding and forms of organization. The creation of cross-border health services, financed with resources from all countries through a IHC term, is an alternative to guarantee access to health services for the population living in the border region.