Race and Health: Perceptions of professionals from a Family Health Team regarding the health of the Black population

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the discourse of healthcare workers from a Family Health Team regarding Black users at a Health Unit located in the eastern region of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. The National Policy for Comprehensive Health of the Black Population (PNSIPN) seeks to promote equity and combat racial inequalities within Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS). However, despite implementation initiatives, challenges remain, such as a lack of knowledge among users and professionals, highlighting the need to ensure social justice and equity. This is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach and cross-sectional design, using semi-structured interviews for data collection and discourse analysis for interpretation. The results identified challenges in healthcare for the Black population within Primary Health Care (PHC), which translate into barriers to accessing preventive health actions. The study concludes that the ongoing training of health professionals, through racial literacy, decolonizing care practices, and public health educational spaces, constitutes possible pathways for improving the implementation and monitoring of the PNSIPN in PHC.