The differences in health between men and women have been object of great interest, but interpretations tend to be naturalized and essentialists. Gender-oriented studies have criticized this literature and offered new analythical alternatives. The present study was intended to describe the profile and trends of scientific production on gender and health in Brazil. Data sources comprised the Research Groups Directory of Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (National Research Council), CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) Thesis Bank, and four journals available in SciELO - Scientific Eletronic Library Online. Fifty-one groups with at least one line of research in the subject were identified, with regional and institutional concentrations. The results confirmed the marked growth of scientific production in this field as 98 master and 42 doctoral dissertations and 665 articles on gender and health were retrieved. Women authored 86.0% and 89.0% of doctoral and master dissertations respectively, and 70.5% of the articles. Most were published in the 2000s when diversification of the studied topics was also seen. The studied subjects can be divided into five subgroups: reproduction and contraception; gender and violence; sexuality and health with emphasis on STD/AIDS; work and health, including domestic and night work; other emergent or less explored topics. There are major political, epistemological and methodological challenges for strengthening these advancements. The gender perspective offers possibilities for enlightment of theoretical dilemmas in public health. Furthermore, it can be added to other intellectual and political efforts towards understanding health and its determinants and fighting against inequalities and for social justice.
Public health; Gender and health; Woman's health; Sexuality; Reproductive health; Scientific publications
