The social imaginary about SUS and the vulnerability of men to access to diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections

Abstract

It is postulated the difficulty of men in the access to diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STI). Considering that access is also molded by sociocultural and symbolic dimensions, it is discussed if and how men’s apprehensions of SUS (the Unified Health System), can make them vulnerable when seeking for care, facing a suspicion of STI, holding as reference the notion of social imaginary. From the execution of four focal groups, it was analyzed the speeches of men about places where they would look for help, in case of suspicion of STI. The negative image that they have about the public health system is built from references that extrapolate their direct experience, in which the media seems to have a preponderant role. To the criticism of SUS private health insurance emerge with redeeming solution. Despite the importance of social participation, this notion was not present in those speeches, leading to the necessity of better comprehending and fomenting such initiative