O trabalho do/a assistente social na política de saúde: o desvelar do cotidiano do exercício profissional nas instituições

Abstract

In this thesis we start from the premise of the social worker’s work as an activity inscribed in the production process and inserted in the social division of work, being, therefore, the professional who experiences the impacts of institutional relations in their daily life. The study adopts as a central object the work of social workers that are active in health policy in São Paulo. In the pandemic scenario experienced around the world, the research field was expanded in order to discuss the work of the social worker in health institutions that are reference in the assistance of Covid-19 patients, seeking to identify the pandemic repercussions on their professional practice, especially the effect in their duties and professional competencies. For the comprehension of the object, the research established a theoretical foundation about the counter-reform, in the capitalism economic proposal, as a way of actualizing the neoliberal state logic, recognizing the intentionality of this management model. Consequently, the study presents a reflection on the neoliberal model in the Health Policy materiality from 1990 to 2020, considering history as an essential element for the understanding of power relations and as a way of acting in the present time. Methodologically, the research was developed in two phases: at first a field research based on quantitative methodology directed to social workers acting in health institutions that are reference in the assistance of Covid-19 patients; and, later, a field research composed of quantitative and qualitative methodology, whose proposal was to analyze the work of social workers in health policy socio-occupational spaces (in public management institutions and institutions that are managed via social organization) and the consequences of the state counter-reform in the work process. Both phases were fundamental to understand the professional practice daily work in health institutions. This study identifies the importance of strengthening the profession in a way that social workers can face power relations that are present in their daily professional life, which have repercussions on all workers (regardless of the socio-occupational space in which they are inserted) in view of the particular implications of management models