Objective: To determine if Brazilian nurses have knowledge of politics and technologies for the administration of health care and nursing services. Method: A integrative literature review was conducted using the LILACS, MEDLINE, SciELO, BDENF, and PAHO databases. The key words "administration of health care," "health technology," and "health care technology and nursing," limited to publications in Portuguese, Spanish, and English were used to search the databases. Results: Eleven publications from 2003 to 2007 were retrieved. Nurses could articulate well in the nursing services and had technical competencies for professional nursing practice; however, they were fragile politically; this limited their professional autonomy and made them to be subordinated to other health care professionals. Conclusion: Advancement and continuing changes in health care, particularly in the organizational and technical-scientific levels, require nurses to develop and strengthen their political, management, and leadership skills to participate equally in a interdisciplinary leadership team.
Health management; Health technology; Assistance technology
