Studies about the Brazilian Health Reform Movement: different perspectives on the same phenomenon

Abstract

The Brazilian Health Sector Reform has been approached from different theoretical and methodological perspectives, this variety of approaches motivated this research. Thus, the aim of this article is to analyze studies about health reform movement from a systematic review of 28 selected articles, among 426 captured on the ‘Capes Periodicals Portal’, ‘SciELO’ and ‘Virtual Health Library’. The results indicate that the majority of authors are subjects ethically and politically engaged in the movement and largely use the marxist approach. Concerning information sources, bibliographic research, institutional documents or documents published by Health Sector Reform entities consultation were prioritized. However, few studies clearly explain the methodological strategies and the theoretical basis used to perform a textual analysis. It is concluded that the choice of the theoretical and methodological references is related to the professional and political trajectory of the authors, directly impacting on the delimitation of the objects of study and, consequently, on the scope and results of the analyzes on the health reform movement.