Interfaces between territory, environment and health in primary care: a bioethics approach

Abstract

Ethic challenges of public health are traversed by micro and macro social determinants, requiring the healthservice to be focused on the scope and its population’s needs. Therefore understanding the interface betweenterritory, environment and health is important. Territory is the space of the daily sociability of the social groupwho inhabit it, not reduced to administration limits. Health depends both on the micro territory and the macronatural and social environment, since represents the social determinants of life reproduction. So, the firstethic challenge is the construction of an assistance model which integrates primary care and the surveillanceknowledge on the health needs of this territory. Another challenge is to build intersectoral actions, politicallyjointed and compromised to face social determinants and environmental damages that affect the health ofpopulation, improving their life quality.