A importância do território na vida da população de São Borja a partir de uma análise da política pública de saúde

Abstract

The territory, in addition to being a geographic space, is a place formed and transformed by people through physical modifications and social relations within it. The formation of vulnerable urban territories occurs as a result of capital exploitation over urban land, dividing those who can afford a piece of land from those who cannot. Those who inhabit these spaces often face difficulties accessing the city and all the issues associated with that access, such as public policies. To serve this population and develop the territory, some public policies, specifically social policies, rely on structures and programs installed within these territories. Among these policies is health care. The way health policy is currently structured, through the Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), is the result of the sanitary movement, which built the model outlined in the Federal Constitution of 1988, which subsequently organized the health network in the country, with services of low, medium, and high complexity. Low complexity is executed through Atenção Básica (AB), which has a widespread network and is present in all neighborhoods of the cities, through the Estratégia em Saúde da Família (ESF), a care unit that serves as the entry point into the health system. The municipality of São Borja, located in the Western Border of Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil, has a population of approximately 60,000 inhabitants, according to the estimate of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) for the year 2024, the vast majority belonging to classes C, D, and E. Data from the Índice de Desenvolvimento Sustentável das Cidades (IDSC - BR) show that the city has indicators with average and low values. Regarding health, the city has a Full Management model and has 44 health establishments that constitute the Rede de Atenção à Saúde (RAS) of the municipality. The study aimed to understand the relationship between the population living in a vulnerable neighborhood and its territory, based on public health policy, by carrying out a focus group, whose statements were transcribed and analyzed using the content analysis methodology. The case study was carried out with residents of two vulnerable neighborhoods in São Borja, and the results obtained indicate that there is recognition of the existence of the policy in the territory, but there are issues of misinformation and lack of trust in relation to the ESF team of workers.