Primary Health Care in Chile: a reinterpretation from the porosity of living bodies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56116/cms.v65.n3.2025.2305Keywords:
Primary Health Care, Universal PHC, porous body, health justice, relational care, critical public health, community participation, situated epistemology, Chilean health system, ethics of careAbstract
This article offers a critical and constructive analysis of the main contemporary approaches to Universal Primary Health Care (U-PHC) in Chile, based on a review of contributions published in volume 65(1) of Cuadernos Médico Sociales. It identifies points of convergence and tension among institutionalist perspectives, structural critiques, and clinical-operational approaches. In response to these frameworks, we present the “porous body” proposal—also published in the same volume—as an ontological, epistemological, and political alternative that redefines PHC as a relational, territorial, and democratizing practice of care. The concept of porosity enables a transcendence of the traditional biomedical model, challenges institutional verticality, and promotes a care ecology grounded in interdependence and embodied justice. The article argues that a PHC model informed by this perspective is better equipped to address current challenges in Chile's health system in a more holistic, participatory, and equitable manner.
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