Sanitary democracy: advancements and resistance in the participation process of patients/users of the French healthcare system

This article thus outlines a brief history about the participation of patients/users of the French health system and to point out the main achievements and difficulties today. Three main sources were used: official archives, documents produced by patient associations, and journal articles. In France, patient participation is part of a complex scenario that can be seen in the term “ Sanitary Democracy ” , which brought together health and politics, so that the structured power relations between patients and health professionals could be questioned and a debate between science and democracy could take place. The AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, followed by various health scandals, led to a break with the traditional model of structuring relationships in the health field, leading to change in the patient ’ s status, role and identity through the strengthening of the associative movement.
Source: Saude e Sociedade - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research