Ambiguity, contradiction and prejudice in an information system of mortality: Reconstructing the Brazilian identity

The "invisibility" of black in Brazilian society, the fallacy of "racial democracy", and the impact of racism on the health of the black population has driven the international debate surrounding issues of “race", "colour" and "racism". There is a consensus that the concept of race (as a social construction) brings qualities such as: ambiguity, ideology, political power and conflicts of interest to the fore, potentially generating antagonisms, but also unity around a resistance identity that provides support against mutual vulnerability caused by socio-historical discriminatory barriers. Although the evidence of inequalities is large and well known, how this process occurs is unclear. It is for this reason that in-depth studies of singularities can help find ways of understanding these processes with a view to informing new health and social care policies. Objective: To examine the systems of race-color classification used in Brazilian health care provision to learn how the Brazilian identity, as dominant or dominated, is constructed. Methodology: The case study investigated all classification schemes used by professionals of forensic medicine, of a northeastern Brazilian city, with a high concentration of people classified as black and brown, coupled with high rates of mortality from violent causes. The ratings were extracted from documents and speech recorded from the staff, whose talk contingent upon its social and ideological identity, provided examples of previous classifications as they are applied in the institutional space. Results: The determination of race and color that forms the basis of data from the Information System of Mortality for violent deaths is a by-product of a medical work oriented by legal purposes, and is not intended to be utilized in a context of health care provision. The process is marked by the absence of any scientific reasoning, confirming also there, the presence of ambiguity, contradiction and prejudice.

---

Learning Objectives: 1. Develop a new understanding about the subjectivity of many health practices. 2. Recognize the importance of the race-color attribute and the role of Health Politics in provide a permanent criticising position of the generation, treatment and diffusion of the health informations. 3. Discuss new ways to open the yes to the quotidian inequalities in the health services in general.

Sub-Theme: Human rights, health rights and public health ethics

See more of: Poster: Human Rights, Health Rights and Public Health Ethics
See more of: Public Health Research & Policy Development

<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >>