Social representations of health councilors regarding the right to health and citizenship.

Objective To know the structure of the social representations of right to health and citizenship of health municipal councilors. Method This is a qualitative study, based on the central nucleus theory of social representations, carried out in eight municipalities of the Integrated Region for the Development of the Surroundings of the Federal District, Brazil. The intentional sample consisted of municipal health councilors. Between June and December 2012, free recall questionnaires were used, of which 68 were answered with the inducing term health, and 64 with the inducing term citizenship. Data were analyzed using EVOC software and Bardin's content analysis. Results The representational field of the right to health is associated with the idea of universal law guaranteed by the Constitution and the Unified Health System (SUS), and of citizenship linked to rights and duties. Conclusions The conceptions of right to health are understood as a condition for reaching citizenship, and citizenship as social protection.