The More Doctors Program: media controversies

Abstract

An exploratory study about the repercussion of the launching of the More Doctors Program in the media was carried out, through the identification, selection and analysis of news published in national circulation newspapers, on the websites of Medical Entities and related to the Brazilian Health Reform, during the launch period of the Program, July to September 2013. The analysis of discourse of the selected material was carried out. The results show different political affiliations of the analyzed entities, with a wide diversity of opinions, which contradict or contradict each other, thus contributing to the issue gaining a political significance that surpassed the health sector. In spite of all the discussions and criticisms surrounding the implementation of the Program, this represents a major advance in terms of public policy, which integrates,
in a single proposal, elements aimed at the emergency provision of doctors, medical education and the development of the infrastructure of the units under Unified Health System (SUS). The material analyzed shows that the media act simultaneously as a space for reverberation of the political debate and also as a political actor that influences public opinion about the Program.