Abstract
The discussion about advancements in healthcare involves the question of patient/user participation in decisions about their treatment, rights and influence on public health policies. This article thus outlines a brief history about the participation of patients/users of the French health system and to point out the main achievements and difficulties today. Three main sources were used: official archives, documents produced by patient associations, and journal articles. In France, patient participation is part of a complex scenario that can be seen in the term “Sanitary Democracy”, which brought together health and politics, so that the structured power relations between patients and health professionals could be questioned and a debate between science and democracy could take place. The AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, followed by various health scandals, led to a break with the traditional model of structuring relationships in the health field, leading to change in the patient’s status, role and identity through the strengthening of the associative movement.
Keywords:
Health Systems; Community Participation; Associative Movement