HEALTH PROMOTION IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE WITHIN THE BRAZILIAN UNIFIED HEALTH SYSTEM (SUS): AN ANALYTICAL TYPOLOGY OF RATIONALITIES AND TENSIONS IN THE TERRITORY

Abstract

Health promotion has been widely discussed within the scope of Primary Health Care (PHC) in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), especially due to its centrality in the organization of practices in the territory. The scientific production in this area highlights conceptual foundations, operational devices, and institutional challenges related to its implementation. However, these discussions are largely fragmented, emphasizing specific dimensions without explicitly addressing the rationales that structure these practices. Therefore, the question arises as to how the literature has configured the different rationales that guide health promotion in PHC within the SUS and what tensions permeate these configurations in the territory. This article aims to propose an analytical typology of the predominant rationales of health promotion in PHC, identifying their structural tensions. This is a theoretical study, based on a review and critical analysis of the scientific production in public health. The analysis allowed the debate to be organized into three rationales: the technical-territorial rationale of care, the communicational-formative rationale, and the political-institutional rationale under tension. It is considered that typology contributes to a better understanding of the field and offers support for future analyses on the organization of health promotion in primary health care.