POPULAR PARTICIPATION: CREATING APROXIMATION STRATEGIES IN THE ‘SAÚDE COLETIVA‘ INTERNSHIP.

Popular participation is a structural axis of SUS and, contradictorily, is little discussed on the medicine course. By understanding that the Family Health Team – ESF – has an important role in the effectuation of this right and by seeing empty debate spaces on the Family Health Units, during the ‘Saúde Coletiva' internship, we decided to dedicate time over the theme and problematize this question with the ESF, seeking to create approximation strategies. The proposal construction of the popular participation was organized in three steps. First, there was the situation knowledge, by observing the staff and community meetings, data analysis on the meetings book and interviews with locals and ESFs. Afterwards, there was discussion and reflexion of the theme with the ESFs. It was found, primarily, that there wasn’t community participation in more than half the planned meetings, and when this participation occurred the issues addressed were only about the functioning of the post, without allusions on community themes. Also, it wasn’t noticed any adaptation of the meeting model when it was with locals. At the end of this process of reflexion on the results, it was agreed the idea of electing primary care service partner representing users and their microarea demands, to establish the dialogue previously empty. So, popular participation, for having as a principle to hear with attention the voices of its components, can reinvent itself and consolidate in spaces where hearing is valued.