This study assesses how popular organizations discuss public health policies based on the analysis of popular participation and on the construction of citizenship in the city of Florianópolis, southern Brazil. It was carried out with social control institutions and organizations. The methodological strategy used was qualitative surveys, with the collective subject discourse as technical analysis. The discourses show that the subjects have an understanding of health with elements that refer to a biological concept, but also advance to an expanded concept. It was observed that citizenship is not limited merely to ensuring rights; rather it extends to the struggle to achieve it. In this sense, participation emerges as a duty to be exercised collectively.
public policy; health; citizenship and participation