Dental treatment dropout in social programs from the perspective of participants and social operators: The Uruguay trabaja case

Abstract

Uruguay Trabaja (UT) is a socio-labor integration program for unemployed adults belonging to households in socio-economic vulnerability. During nine months they receive support from experts from Civil Society Organizations (CSO), and are entitled to comprehensive dental care not routinely provided by the Health System of Uruguay. A third of beneficiaries of UT initiate the treatment, abandoning it afterwards. The phenomenon of dropping out dental treatment was studied based on the content analysis of interviews with participants and experts from CSOs. Based on the concepts of habitus de Bourdieu and Castel’s individualized protections, the complexity of everyday life; absence of dentist-participant bonding and the short time of accompaniment of UT to sustain the processes of socialization, are aspects to be considered in order to understand the abandonment of this transitory right to assistance.