Public health care in Brazil: a study of six anchorages

Abstract

In order to illustrate conceptual aspects of a qualitative research tool - the Collective Subject Speech - especially in relation to the methodological concept of Anchorage the present work portrays some results of two pieces of research. The first on the public user's satisfaction towards health services and the second on elderly caretakers. Also, this work aims at discussing some current social representations on public health assistance in Brazil through the analysis of these Anchorages. The analysis and the discussion of the Anchorage highlights its usefulness for the rescuing of social representations. In their content these representations disclose a conflict between the general logic of the Right and that of the Market in the current Brazilian imaginary on the health field. Such conflict clearly indicates health's ongoing merchantilizing process in Brazil.