The principles of the Brazilian Unified Health System, studied based on similitude analysis

OBJECTIVES: to analyze and compare the incorporation of the ethical-doctrinal and organizational principles into the social representations of the Unified Health System (SUS) among health professionals. METHOD: a study grounded in Social Representations Theory, undertaken with 125 subjects, in eight health institutions in Rio de Janeiro. The free word association technique was applied to the induction term "SUS", the words evoked being analyzed using the techniques of the Vergès matrix and similitude analysis. RESULTS: it was identified that the professionals' social representations vary depending on their level of education, and that those with higher education represent a subgroup responsible for the process of representational change identified. This result was confirmed through similitude analysis. CONCLUSION: a process of representational change is ongoing, in which it was ascertained that the professionals incorporated the principles of the SUS into their symbolic constructions. The similitude analysis was shown to be a fruitful technique for research in nursing.