National Health Promotion Policy the dilemmas of autonomy

Abstract

This article analyses the National Health Promotion Policy discourse and the conception of autonomy in this document, raising questions about its social effects, especially in what concerns the individual responsibility towards health care. The official document was examined and three main ideas were defined for its analysis: individual responsibility; focus on personal choices and everyday habits; subjectification processes. We consider that the discourse of promotional health determines a standardization of life styles that are considered to be healthy, highlighting the responsibility of each individual of preserving their personal health. Such object is justified because it is essential to reflect on how the health care models are formulated, that power relations they are at the service and what are the discursive production processes that allow the enunciation of a given model of public health policy. We intend to contribute with this research to the debate within the public health field, regarding the conceptual formulations under the Health Promotion, to propose reflections aimed to transform the way they think and intervene in Brazilian population's health.