Discourse analysis of the National Policy for Health Promotion

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the characteristics of the perspectives of Health Promotion present in the proposals of the actual National Policy for Health Promotion (PNPS). Methods: We conducted a qualitative, exploratory and documental study using the methodological procedures of the Collective Subject Discourse (CSD) in the period of October 2009 to June 2010. Results: There were five Central-Ideas related to three different Anchorages. The DSC connected to Central-Ideas: (1) Spreading and introducing the PNPS; (3) Organizing and introducing proceedings targeting individual risk factors; and (4) Monitoring and controlling damages and risk factor, showed to be linked to Behavioral and/or Biomedical Approaches of Health Promotion. The DSC connected to Central-Ideas: (2) Discussing and Evaluating the PNPS and (5) Organizing and introducing proceedings for sustainable development reflected a Socio-Environmental Approach of Health Promotion. Conclusion: It was possible to verify the complexity of a set of proposals that reflect different perspectives of Health Promotion, considering that the Socio-Environmental approach, although not predominant in the PNPS, can be the most effective and according to the Unified Health System(SUS)