The Territorialization of Health Care as a Strategy for Human Development in Public Schools

Abstract

Human development, understood as a dynamic, multidimensional, and situated process, requires an approach that integrates biological, psychological, social, and territorial factors. The analysis proposed in this study demonstrated that, although advances in objective indicators such as the Human Development Index (HDI) are important, they are not sufficient to ensure subjective well-being, especially among adolescents. The persistence of inequalities and the fragility of public institutions particularly schools highlight the urgent need for intersectoral policies that integrate health, education, and development within the territory. In this context, the school emerges as a strategic space for care, belonging, and holistic formation, especially relevant during adolescence, a decisive and vulnerable stage of human development. The presence of nursings and the implementation of intersectoral practices enhance the construction of safer, healthier, and more meaningful educational trajectories. By recognizing the territory as a lived space shaped by multiple relationships, the importance of territorialized actions that are responsive to local specificities is reinforced. Thus, the articulation between health, education, and territory is configured not only as a technical-political strategy but also as an ethical imperative for equity and the strengthening of public policies aimed at youth.