The influence of the institutions on local health councils

Objective: To analyze the influences of the institutions in the operation of the Local Health councils. Design: qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study. Study setting: 02 Primary Health Care services of a municipality in the inland of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Participants: twenty-four members of the Local Health Councils and 4 key informants. Methods: Supported by the theoretical methodological framework of Institutional Analysis. Data were produced through 28 semi-structured interviews, observation and participation in the activities of the councils and recording in the research diary. Data were organized and analyzed by the process of transcription, transposition and reconstitution. Results: The institutions act in the territories represented by social actors who occupy positions and functions within the Primary Health Care services, evidencing the perpetuation of hierar-chization with valorization of the speeches of professionals and managers to the detriment of patients and predominance of bureaucratized meetings. The social actors reproduce the ideals of the collective to which they belong in these spaces. Conclusions: The health management teams do not recognize the different forces that act in the health territory, however, these forces interfere in the activities performed and in health care. The groups act both in formal spaces through official representatives who meet and discuss issues in collegiate meetings and in informal spaces, and constitute forces in dispute in the health territory. (c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study analyzes the influences of institutions in the operation of Local Health Councils and finds that the speeches of professionals and managers are valued while patients are neglected, and the meetings are characterized by bureaucratization. Additionally, it is observed that health management teams are not aware of the different forces at play in the health territory.