The socio-ecological and primary care approach to the creation of universal health systems in the work of Hernán San Martin.

Eleonor Minho Conill

doi:10.1590/1413-81232015211.20522015

Abstract

This article describes the contributions of Chilean physician San Martín Ferrari (1915-200), arguing that they constitute important cornerstones in collective health in Brazil, Latin America, and the Iberian Peninsula. His work is reviewed, establishing a dialog with the current theoretical research in this field and the context of contemporary health systems. Two main aspects are emphasized: the innovation of San Martín in insisting on the importance of analyses that incorporate the relationship between environment and health; and his role in the creation of the Chilean and the Spanish National Health Services. Although they arose in distinct moments and had different trajectories, these systems constitute examples for the creation of universal public health systems, such as the Brazilian health reform and the ongoing challenge to improve the Unified Health System. The analysis of his work and biography contribute elements for the comparative study of these reforms, as well as an eco-systemic approach to health.

Highlights

The builders of our field of collective health are many, but surely Hernán San Martín Ferrari laid the foundation for many of them, in Brazil as much as in Latin America and the Iberian Penninsula
Published originally in Cuba (1962), it was released in Mexico in 1964 with successive reprintings in 1968, 1975, 1981, and 1995
Comprised of forty-five topics organized in six sections, the book shows a rare equilibrium between classic technical content and a broad approach to the theme

Summary

Introduction

The builders of our field of collective health are many, but surely Hernán San Martín Ferrari laid the foundation for many of them, in Brazil as much as in Latin America and the Iberian Penninsula. In 1970, a second edition of this book was the subject of a review in the periodical Milbank Quarterly[2] which emphasized one of the central ideas of the work of San Martín: health and sickness are not opposite states but gradations in a constant process of adaptation of man to his environment.

Results

Conclusion