Health promotion in the territory: strengths and challenges of local projects

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze actions of health promotion of a territory, trying to respond as they reveal the fundamental values, principles and guidelines of the National Health Promotion Policy (in Portuguese, Política Nacional de Promoção da Saúde). Method: a qualitative study, whose data were obtained from interviews with 11 members of a community network and submitted to the Textually Oriented Discourse Analysis. Results: Health promotion actions, which approximate those foreseen in the guidelines of the National Health Promotion Policy (in Portuguese, Política Nacional de Promoção da Saúde), are mostly derived from the intersectoral work of the local community network; these harmonize with values, happiness, solidarity, as well as the principles of participation and territoriality. Conclusion: the restriction of the community’s integrated participation in actions weakens the process of social transformation. It is necessary to review points such as the dissemination of the work carried out in partnership with the Network, as well as greater openness to the participation of the population in all stages of the actions developed in the territory. Implications for the practice: the study contributes to reflection on the limits and possibilities of intersectoral actions in the development of local projects and conduction of broad Health Promotion actions capable of producing citizenship