Resumen

SUAREZ LUGO, Nery. Social approach of marketing and the challenges of the universal health coverage. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2015, vol.41, suppl.1, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0864-3466.

For attaining the universal health coverage that the World Health Organization is calling to, it is necessary to move from a fragmented health care model to a segmented one according to the epidemiological situation, the characteristics of the population and the level of vulnerability. The objective of this paper was to analyze marketing as a tool to meet the great challenge of the public health care and to this end; a documentary and updated literature analysis was made. It was demonstrated that no science or technology is unnecessary and that marketing has in its social approach a wide range of applications in the health activity, comprises promotion of healthy life styles, bring services closer to the people requiring them, improve health quality and promote the rational use of drugs and technologies. Marketing may be used to guide the changes of the health systems and to support the numerous aspects of the universal coverage including empowerment, promotion, prevention and education to raise the level of health culture, the knowledge about rights and obligations so that the people can make decisions that increase their welfare and that of their families, the community and the environment. Marketing also helps in overcoming the difficulties involved in the implementation of new forms of organization of health services, eliminating barriers and meeting the challenges, so that both service providers and users may use the rights they are entitled to.

Palabras clave : marketing; universal coverage; health.