Although there is a tradition of social scientists working in the health sector in Brazil, the workforce and its contribution remains almost completely invisible. This article discusses the results of two complementary investigations, conducted in 645 municipalities in São Paulo state, into the views of healthcare managers and social scientists concerning their work in Brazil's National Health System. The study concludes that the entry to work in the health sector is unplanned and that the invisibility, colonization and alienation of this workforce are generated by internal factors within both the health sector and the social sciences themselves.
Sociology of Health; Work; Social invisibility; Sociology of professional groups