Resumo

GONZALEZ MENENDEZ, Ricardo. Humanism and health management: past, present and future. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2006, vol.32, n.4, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3127.

After a brief mention of Thomas´ disease, the situation accounting for the world tendency to deteriorating interpersonal relations in health management was assessed. Criteria about the breakdown of psychosocial aspects at the new cultural and spiritual levels were expounded. The increasing overlapping of strata involved in the integrated condition of the human being as well as the significance of identifying the qualitative leap that occurs when one sees the other people´s needs as if they were own were underlined. The latter is considered the basis of the service vocation and its variant in the healthcare field, that is, medical vocation. Commments were made on the relevance of humanism, spirituality and ethics for all healthcare workers and on what they mean for patients and relatives alike. Some measures were suggested to prevent humanism from vanishing and no longer existing as a fundamental frame for health management

Palavras-chave : Humanism; spirituality; ethics; health management; present and future situation.