SPORT AS POSSIBILITY FOR BODILY PRACTICES AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES IN PRIMARY CARE: AN OUTLINE OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN BRAZIL

Abstract

Considered one of the world's largest public health systems, Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS) is developed based on the principles of universality, equity, and integrality in health services and actions and has primary health care (PHC) as its entry point. In the multi-professional work carried out in the PHC units, health promotion and disease prevention actions stand out, for example, by encouraging bodily practices and physical activities. These are understood as individual or collective bodily movement expressions with strong cultural and social influences, promoting human development. Among these activities, the dimension of sport with participatory purpose, which provides an opportunity for participation instead of competition and performance, emerges as an important alternative for creating sense, bonds, and satisfying experiences. As an agent that promotes sport, the Physical Education professional acts as one of the main responsible for articulation, insertion, and the user's motivation for these practices. From a narrative review of the literature based on official government documents and scientific or academic studies, this one aims to reflect on the adoption of participatory sport in actions related to PHC's bodily practices and physical activities. For that matter, reflections will be conducted regarding the social, cultural, and health context, barriers to their development, such as the formation and the reduced number of the Physical Education professionals inserted in the health system teams, as well as logistical issues - appropriate locations and equipment - necessary making this activity feasible. Finally, possibilities that may contribute to participatory sport's optimization by potentializing PHC actions will be discussed, such as exercising citizenship and resisting social inequities, enabling the democratization of access to human movement as a cultural component, health promotion, human development, and peace.