Abstract

The health-disease-care process is an individual and social construction through which the person elaborates his illness, and conditions the kind of help he will look for. The perception of this complex process is personal and subjective and it can only be understood in the context of the universe of beliefs, values and behaviors of the sociocultural environment of each person, as well as his life material conditions. The purpose of this paper has been to better know the factors that explain why the poor families of Salta City covered by the Primary Attention Health Program, under use the health public system. The results show that the perception of the health problems are very much influenced by the material conditions of their life and the sociocultural values towards health. The need to solve daily problems, like getting a job or getting food lessens the importance of health problems, specially in grown people, while health problems of children receive greater attention. The organization of the Sanitary System, as well as the relations between end users and health service providers discourage the concurrence to the health centers.