Comprehensiveness is a key principle in Brazil's Unified National Health System (SUS), approached from various perspectives, including linkage between services. The debate on this principle appears in health care, especially in the area of Women's Health, and in Health Surveillance guidelines. Since both areas target quality of health services, the aim of this study is to analyze the integration between Health Surveillance and Women's Health Care. This is a qualitative case study that interviewed Health Surveillance staff in health services and coordinators of Women's Health services. The findings point to the isolation of Health Surveillance within the health secretariats. The importance of integrating the two areas is cited by Women's Health administrators, but it is difficult to implement. Collaborative relations only occur in emergency situations. The Health Surveillance professionals believe that this lack of integration is due to the fact that women's health issues do not require their participation, and that at any rate they collaborate with the area through health inspections and talks. The study detected difficulties in achieving integration between the two areas, with the persistent challenge of linking health actions, especially with Health Surveillance.
Women's Health; Health Public Policy; Comprehensive Health Care; Health Surveillance
