Kenneth Rochel de Camargo Jr | Diretor do Departamento de Apoio à Produção Científica e Tecnológica (DEPESQ), Sub-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa – Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ)
Knowledge plays an important role in health care. The production and diffusion of health-related knowledge are increasingly under the control of private commercial interests, which are characterized by confl icts of interests that result in abuses of power. Considerable research has been done on the medicalindustrial complex and its role in the production of power imbalances and the consequent abuses, but little attention has been dedicated to the role played by the publishing industry, which can be subject to the same problems. The widely diffused idea that “frequent and major changes” occur in medicine, albeit unsupported by clearcut evidence, is an effective marketing tool for both the pharmaceutical and publishing industries, who feed and thrive on physicians’ insecurities. The production and distribution of knowledge should be addressed as a strategic component of public health.
Host: Luís Lapão
