The Judiciary and access to the Frequency Modulation System: an analysis of the effectiveness of public policies on hearing health

ABSTRACT

Purpose

to know how the process of creating public policies on Hearing Health in Brazil, and the influence of the Judiciary Power for the access by the hearing impaired person and the use in the school environment, concerning the Frequency Modulation (FM) System.

Methods

an exploratory qualitative study through which a normative survey was initially carried out - on the websites of the Presidency, the Chamber of Deputies and the Ministry of Health - aiming to identify, from October 1988 to October 2019, the existence of norms dealing with the creation of public policies on Hearing Health. Also, a jurisprudential survey was carried out - on the websites of Courts of Justice, Federal Regional Courts, and Superior Court of Justice - to identify the existence of court decisions dealing with access to the FM System via the Unified Health System in the period from January 2000 to October 2019.

Results

We identified ten normative instruments that dealt specifically with the creation of public policies on Hearing Health, as well as six court decisions whose merits consisted of access to the FM System via the Unified Health System.

Conclusion

The Judiciary has a fundamental role in achieving access to the FM System for people with hearing impairment since its performance suppresses omissions provided by other Powers and prevents public policies already designed to contemplate restrictions contrary to the Federal Constitution.

Keywords:
Hearing loss; Public health policies; Human rights; Handicapped advocacy; Court rulings