Gender and racial inequalities in the access to and the use of Brazilian health services

Abstract This paper aims to evaluate gender and racial inequalities in the access and use of health services in Brazil Based on the 2019 National Health Survey (PNS). Its main objective is to understand how white, black, or brown men and women seek medical care in Primary Health Care, the gateway to the Brazilian health system. Analyses from a gender perspective show that cultural and social patterns affect individual actions and choices and mainly access to and use of health services. The results also show that men and women reproduce the expected gender behavior, socially and culturally constructed, which impacts their self-assessment of health status, care, and their exposure to the risk of disease and death. The intersectional analysis reveals that racial inequalities are aligned with those observed between men and women, exponentiating vulnerabilities for self-identified black or brown people, reflecting the structural socioeconomic inequalities of Brazilian society. In this context, the universality and integrality recommended in the Unified Health System contribute as a public policy to the guarantee of rights, equalization of opportunities, and adequate access to equal care.