On anxieties and enthusiasms over 30+ years of Saúde e Sociedade: where do we come from? Where are we? Where do we want to go?

Abstract

This article maps the trajectory of Saúde e Sociedade through three central questions: where we come from, where we are, and where we want to go. The text begins by briefly tracing the journal’s origins and its foundational roots at the intersection of the Social and Human Sciences and Public/Collective Health, highlighting its early consolidation within the scientific community. Turning to the contemporary landscape, the article examines the journal’s institutional and editorial transition, including a comprehensive revision of its mission. These institutional changes explicitly align the journal’s formal scope with its evolving editorial practice, while reaffirming its commitment to critically analyzing the relationships between health, society, and power. The text also underscores current challenges facing academic journals, including sustainability, internationalization, and shifts in the production and dissemination of knowledge. Finally, we outline the future commitments of Saúde e Sociedade, reaffirming its role as a space for sophisticated dialogue—one attentive to contemporary struggles, committed to defending health as a fundamental right, and open to the diverse perspectives that shape the field.