This article analyzes some challenges for knowledge output in the human and social sciences in the public health field, under the current academic assessment model in Brazil. The article focuses on the qualitative research approach in human and social sciences, analyzing its status in comparison to the other traditions vying for hegemony in the public health field, conjugating the dialogue with the literature, especially the propositions pertaining to the social fields present in the work of Pierre Bourdieu, with elements concerning the field's dynamics, including some empirical data. Challenges identified in the article include hurdles to interdisciplinary dialogue and equity in the production of knowledge, based on recognition of the founding place of human and social sciences in the public health field. The article discusses strategies to reshape the current correlation of forces among centers of knowledge in public health, especially those capable of impacting the committees and agendas that define the accumulation of symbolic and economic capital in the field.
Humanitites; Social Sciences; Qualitative Research