EXPRESSIONS OF INSTITUTIONAL RACISM IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF ARACAJU: AN EXPERIENCE REPORT

Abstract

This article discusses our professional experiences in Primary Health Care in Aracaju and addresses some expressions of institutional racism at this level of health care. The main objective is to problematize some institutional codes that make it difficult to focus on health care for the black population, in flagrant non-compliance with the National Policy for the Comprehensive Health of the Black Population (PNSIPN). We rely on participant observation, document analysis and literature review situated between the borders of historical-dialectical materialism and decoloniality to address the reflections mentioned here. We divided the report, for organizational purposes, into three axes that portray racist experiences in a basic health unit in the capital of Aracaju: 1) Refusal of title with pecuniary progression to health professionals formally certified with PNSIPN update; 2) Non-compliance with the race-color issue in the registration of users who use the SUS and; 3) Preservation of symbology with a slave-owning and colonialist connotation. We conclude that the imprecision of race/color records, the disinvestment in continuing education for health professionals and the maintenance of symbols with slave-like connotations evidence the lack of knowledge or apathy in the effective implementation of the PNSIPN.

Keywords: PNSIPN. SUS. Institutional Racism. Basic Attention.