1. [Strengths and challenges of citizens' participation in local health councils: the cases of Italy, England, and Brazil].
- Author
-
Serapioni M and Romaní O
- Subjects
- Brazil, Decision Making, England, Humans, Italy, National Health Programs, Social Identification, Advisory Committees, Community Health Services standards, Community Participation methods, Health Care Reform, Health Planning Councils
- Abstract
This paper focuses on three models for citizens' participation in health (Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil). After discussing the strengths and weakness of the three experiences, the study presents a comparative analysis, highlighting convergences and variations in relation to the main characteristics of social participation in the health sector: (a) organization and composition of health councils; (b) functions played by citizens' representatives (decision-making, advisory, or social control or oversight); and (c) approaches to community participation. The paper then focuses on two critical points emerging from the analysis of experiences with community participation: the issue of representativeness and the difficulty experienced by representatives of health services users in influencing the decision-making by system managers.
- Published
- 2006
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