Trajectory of the 15 years of implementation of the School Health Program in Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the evolution of the implementation of the School Health Program (PSE) over its 15 years in Brazil. A mixed methodological approach was used, involving a combination of document analysis and ecological study with secondary data from 2007 to 2021 recorded in the historical process of implementing the PSE in Brazil. It was observed that in these fifteen years the PSE has advanced not only significantly impacting the percentage of municipalities that joined the Program, but also in its structure and format, having the territory as the main locus of its development, and the articulation between health and education as the driving strategy of local arrangements. Furthermore, the PSE’s intersectoral management model helps the articulation of health and education networks in an interfederative manner. Therefore, this historical analysis gives an overview of school health in Brazil from the perspective of the PSE and provides the perspective of improvement necessary for the sustainable and qualified continuity of the Program.