THIS SPECIAL ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL ‘SAÚDE EM DEBATE’ was organized based on the reflection that has been developed within the Observatory of Political Analysis in Health (OAPS)¹1Located at the Institute of Public Health of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), the OAPS has been built, since 2014, after approval of the project presented to MCTI/CNPq/CT-Saúde/MS/SCTIE/Decit (Call nº 41 / 2013 – National Network of Research on Health Policy – Knowledge for the accomplishment of the universal right to health). Available at: <www.analisepoliticaemsaude.org>. on the theoretical-methodological approaches used in the area of health policy, planning and management, and the pertinence of each of them to the understanding and critique of the Brazilian Health Reform process, the policies and strategies implemented aiming the construction of the Unified Health System (SUS) and the problems and challenges that arise in the current crisis, with serious repercussions in the field of health.

The ‘Political Analysis in Health’, which names the OAPS, assumes power as a central category, trying to examine how it presents itself and how it is appropriated, accumulated, distributed, disputed and used in the sectorial and corporate spheres. Although this research can be carried out at various moments of the political cycle (agenda construction, formulation, decision making, implementation and evaluation) and within the institutions, its major challenge is to analyze conjunctures and their relationships with health in their dimensions of vital state, productive sector and area of knowledge.

The scientific production derived from the execution of the projects and subprojects developed in the OAPS, whether they take the perspective of the political analysis in health, or take specific policies using different references, has been generating master’s dissertations, doctoral theses, articles and book chapters. Given the increase in the production of articles in the last two years, the OAPS group of researchers considered it pertinent to organize a thematic issue of ‘Saúde em Debate’ dedicated specifically to this theme.

This publication therefore presents a set of articles produced by OAPS researchers, as well as several papers submitted to ‘Saúde em Debate’, whose themes and approaches are close to 12 research axes of the Observatory. Faithful to the objectives that marked the foundation of the Brazilian Center for Health Studies (Cebes) and to the editorial line of its journal, we hope, with the publication of this issue, to expand and strengthen the network of researchers committed to the quality of academic work and stimulate socio-political militancy in defense of the SUS, of the Brazilian Health Reform and of the right to health in the country.

Carmen Fontes Teixeira
Vice Presidente of the Brazilian Center for Health Studies (Cebes)Jairnilson Silva Paim
Director of the Brazilian Center for Health Studies (Cebes)

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