Equidade e inclus？o de grupos sociais na política de saúde: o caso do Recife, Brasil

objective: to analyze the conception and operationalization of the principle of equity in the municipal health secretary's recognition of the needs of social groups in recife between 2001 and 2008. methods: a case study involving semi-structured interviews and analysis of documents was carried out. the subjects were health service managers. four social groups were selected: working people, people with psychiatric disorders, women, and people living in poverty. thematic content analysis was used to investigate the following categories: social participation, technical and policy rationality, and integration. results: the health secretary's health policy includes various underprivileged groups, allocating resources thatare not restricted to basic care, although there is a lack of communication between the various levels of care. limitations that especially need to be overcome include: the family health program referring an excessive number of patients to specialized care, suggesting problems with the identification/incorporation of users' needs; occupational health policy having failed to consolidate health surveillance; failure to make progress in developing care in the community programs for people with psychiatric disorders; difficulty in meeting the diversity of needs of women, beyond pregnancy and childbirth; patchy training of health professionals in the areas of gender, race, ethnicity and class. conclusion: recife's health authorities have adopted a concept of vertical equity by including diverse social groups with diverse needs, although it has diffi culty in attending these needs in an integrated fashion.