Abstract

This paper analyzes the everyday construction of kinship ties in a low income neighborhood of Salvador served by the Family Health Program (PSF). Interviews and participant observation were carried out during three years of field work. We found that kinship relations are constantly constructed on the basis of "blood ties" and conscious "consideration." We show the way informants understand the limits of their "houses" and the relationship between the "arrangement of houses" and the construction of kinship relations that include both men and women. We examine how these relationships are produced in exchanges that also involve caring for health. We reflect on the contrasts between the formal proposal of the PSF -which equates house with family and focuses on spousal relationships- and what we observe in this research. We then discuss the challenges that the implementation of the aforementioned program creates, especially for the work of health professionals.