BODIES IN EXHAUSTION: SOCIAL DETERMINATION OF HEALTH, CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE AND THE CHALLENGES AT WORK
Health-Disease ProcessSocial Determination of Health; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic; Socioeconomic Factors
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) represents a major public health challenge in Brazil, significantly affecting the lives of thousands of individuals and their families due to high morbidity and mortality rates, as well as the increasing demand for renal replacement therapies such as dialysis. CKD emerges not only as a clinical condition but also as a direct or indirect expression of the social conditions under which society develops, particularly reflecting the realities experienced by specific social classes within a capitalist context marked by structural inequalities, precarious labor relations, and the predominance of neoliberal rationality. Therefore, understanding CKD requires moving beyond strictly biomedical perspectives to encompass the social determinations related to class, race, gender/ethnicity, and socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors that shape the lived experience of illness. This study aimed to analyze the challenges and perspectives associated with access to and permanence in the world of work among individuals living with chronic kidney disease in the municipality of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.A qualitative, exploratory-analytical study was conducted, grounded in the historical-dialectical materialist method, seeking to apprehend the structural roots underlying the social processes that motivated this investigation. The study examines the relationship between living conditions and experiences of chronicity and prolonged suffering, as well as the specific challenges related to entering, remaining in, or returning to the labor market following diagnosis. Particular attention is given to access to social rights and to the social determination of health within the health–disease process and treatment trajectory.