Participação da comunidade no contexto da saúde: visão dos Gestores Municipais de Saúde.

Social participation can occur through institutionalized channels, from conferences and municipal health councils or non-institutionalized, performed in other social spaces for the exercise of democracy in the State and in decision making on public policy proposals. Investigate the involvement of the community in the planning, monitoring and control of the activities of health in the municipalities of the 28th Health Region of Rio Grande do Sul. Qualitive research with health managers of eleven municipalities of a region of Southern Brazil. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. For the participants, the social control occurs at institutionalized spaces, especially in the municipal health councils. The majority of managers assigned to municipal health council as a supervisory body and linked the lack of interest of the population to lack of knowledge. There is a need for more effective social participation in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]