Chamber session discusses color or race in SUS records

Professionals today (12) have advocated the need to include color or race in medical records, records, and SUS registration as a way to improve public policies targeting the nation’s black population. They say the measure will help reduce inequality of access and treatment in the public health system.

The inclusion of the race/color component in SUS records is contained in Bill (PL) 7103 of 2014, which is being processed by the Committee on Constitution and Justice (CCJ) of the House of Representatives. The proposal amends the Racial Equality Act when it deals with health measures targeting the black population.

The topic was the subject of a public hearing in college. In the assessment of the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the São Paulo School of Nursing, Federal University of São Paulo Univesp, Luciana Alves, this type of information is needed to identify epidemiological data more efficiently to implement public policies targeting blacks. Population.

Luciana cited as an example the need for more information about diseases with a greater prevalence in the black population, such as sickle cell anemia and arterial hypertension. According to her, this information will help combat racial inequality in access to health care, as it will provide statistical evidence on this topic.

“I say I can only bring them [evidências da desigualdade no acesso à saúde] If there is a classification of people of color and ethnicity using the official terminology of IBGE [ Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística] and consider how this right to health and access to health is distributed among self-ranked groups,” he said.

The teacher states that the inclusion of race or ethnicity color is also intended to raise awareness of the importance of self-advertising by users and staff of the Public Health Network.

“When we assume that we see skin colors and that this leads to unequal behaviour, even if it is unconscious, we need to make doctors, medical nurses and health professionals know that a public service cannot be dispensed with, therefore, everyone, in an unequal way, as we did in Brazil” .

The Dean of Escola Paulista de Enfermagem at Unifesp, Anderson da Silva Rocha, also stated that the procedure would enable greater knowledge of the case. Recognizing the importance of the topic, the professor said, he begins to enter the public agenda so that solutions can be sought.

“Creating information also creates a responsibility for the government to fulfill its role,” he said. “We do not have a fair and equal system in terms of access to health care for the population and this needs to be urgently corrected,” he added.

Currently, the information about the race of the element / color is already included in the SUS information system, according to the Decree of the Ministry of Health 2017. According to the Director of Health Analysis and Surveillance of Non-Communicable Diseases, Health Monitoring Secretariat of the Ministry of Health, Giovanni France, even with the decree, the file in favor of approval of The project.

“Knowledge is key to building fair policies and procedures,” he said. “We support the project and recognize the importance of race/color and skin color as an important demographic characteristic that allows us to better characterize the health situation in the country and demonstrate these disparities,” he added.

Deputy Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), who oversaw the work, said he was confident the proposal would be approved in November, when National Black Consciousness Day will be celebrated on the 20th. Zumbi, one of the leaders from Quilombo dos Palmares.

“When we think about the health of the black population, when we agree to an initiative that would allow the collection of information on the health of the black population, we provide state input so that we can structure effective public policies in combating problems that particularly affect the Brazilian black population.”