A case study of social vulnerability: Thoughts for the promotion of health

Abstract

Health promotion is a set of strategies that aim to improve the quality of life of individuals and populations. Since these strategies are based on social determinants of health, it is important to identify vulnerability issues in order to explore their impact on health care. The present study describes a case study showing the perception of women on poverty as violence and social vulnerability and the impact of the same on health. A qualitative study was performed, based on content analysis. The results are presented in narrative form and address: 1) poverty as social vulnerability; 2) poverty and perceptions of violence; 3) poverty and associated health outcomes. We found that poverty was a central question of social vulnerability which can be a determinant for women’s lives. It is therefore important to consider subjectivities regarding violence and social vulnerability on populations living in poverty when designing health promotion policies.