A PROMOÇÃO DA SAÚDE NO ENSINO SUPERIOR E O MOVIMENTO DE UNIVERSIDADES PROMOTORAS DE SAÚDE

Abstract

When we talk about universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), we are talking about environments considered as valuable resources for the sociocultural context in which they are inserted, therefore, the investment in PS in these environments is also an investment for the future. The movement of Health Promoting Universities (UPS) arises from this conception, which sees the university as influential in the transformation of individuals and communities. Further ahead, motivated by the perspective of building healthy environments, university academic networks were constituted and, through their influence, it was also possible to observe the birth of UPS networks. In Brazil, this movement gained strength through the emergence of the Brazilian UPS Network. Although the UPS concept has great strength, it is still challenging to build strategies and objectives that achieve the principles of health and sustainability for all, using tools that provide an environment created based on the principles of PS. The constitution of a UPS should be presented in a more systematic way, focusing efforts on strengthening networks and characterizing this movement. Over the years and the growth of the movement, a favorable scenario of SP strategies in HEIs has been built. However, the necessary care must be maintained so that SP actions and projects in higher education do not succumb to a context of commodification. The tendency to understand health solely as the absence of disease must also be overcome.