Abstract
The aim was to understand the main needs and demands of male rural workers regarding a Primary Health Care team in Southeastern Brazil. It is a qualitative study, which was guided by the hermeneutic-dialectical approach. We conducted 41 in-depth interviews, recorded notes on field journals, and collected secondary data. In the analysis, we used the levels of interpretation, which enabled the development of two thematic categories for the health needs: “increase in the supply of medicines” and “access to specialized and specific prostate exams.” We also developed two categories for the social demands: “acknowledgment as users of the health service” and “education in health groups dealing with male issues.” The discussion was based on the attributes of Primary Health Care and on the Social Markers and Intersectionality Theory. The study enabled us to comprehend the production process, to get to know the clinical-epidemiological characteristics, and to discuss the invisibility of the rural workers in the demand for and access to health services. We observed a high regard for the curative care model, and the positive contribution of the demand of the men to the strengthening of the movements of struggle for the right to social health.
rural population; primary health care; male health; needs and demands for health services