BETWEEN THE ABSENCE OF ILLNESS AND POSSIBLE CARE: HEALTH ACCORDING TO FEMALE USERS OF THE FAMILY HEALTH STRATEGY PROGRAM

Abstract This article presents meanings that women users of the Family Health Strategy program attribute to health and its relation to care. The qualitative method was applied, using as a theoretical reference the discussions of Canguilhem and Winnicott on the notion of health, as well as notes on the medicalization of life. The fieldwork was developed through in-depth interviews between May and July 2015, with users of the Family Health Strategy program, and was treated with a hermeneutical analysis. Health, related both to the absence of illness and to complete well-being, as well as to the disposition to face the sufferings inherent to life. There is a coexistence between the unconditional trust in medical technology and a wager on intuitive care modes or those originated from social relationships. The health service contributes to the access to the treatment and, at the same time, reinforces the commitment to the prevention of all the misfortunes of the body, as well as the idea that the right to health care is related to the individual responsibility to keep it perfect. In a culture marked by individualism and competitiveness, individuals living in contexts of deep social injustice submit to rules to prevent the risk of becoming ill, but their possibilities of creating unique ways of enjoying life are restricted.