Promotion or prevention? Analysis of the communication strategies carried out by Brazilian Health Ministry from 2006 to 2013

• Main Authors: Wagner Robson Manso de Vasconcelos, Mariella Silva de Oliveira-Costa, Ana Valéria Machado Mendonça
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde (Icict) da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) 2016-06-01
• Series: RECIIS
• Subjects: Comunicação em saúde; promoção da saúde; campanhas promovidas pelo Ministério da Saúde brasileiro; meios de comunicação de massa; publicidade.
• Online Access: https://www.reciis.icict.fiocruz.br/index.php/reciis/article/view/1019

This article aims to analyse if the communication strategies carried out by Brazilian Health Ministry intend stimulating health promotion or diseases prevention. It is based on a qualitative research about the campaigns from 2006 to 2013 promoted by Health Ministry regarding the Política Nacional de Promoção da Saúde (Health Promotion National Policy), such as: physical activities; healthy eating and ways of life; stop smoking; alcoholic beverage use control, and special cares for aging process. The analysis has focused on three categories – “direction”, “target” and “approach” – in order to verify if the campaigns have directly to do with health promotion. We observed that from 14 campaigns promoted, only three have target and direction related to health promotion; the approach of the other campaigns cannot be characterized as connected to it. We have come to the conclusion that the communication of the campaigns promoted by Brazilian Health Ministry, during the period analyzed, were rather linked to diseases prevention than to health promotion.