Space and place for health and care - Nationalist discourses in Swedish daily press during the first year of COVID-19.

Sweden's strategy during COVID-19 with restrictions but no firm closure of the society surprised the rest of the world and was questioned, not least by neighbouring countries. This article analyses public discourses on space and place for health and care in the Swedish daily press during the first year of the pandemic, 2020. Critical discourse analysis was conducted on daily press newspaper articles to approach issues of space, place, health and care during the COVID-10 pandemic. The findings suggest three main discourses. First, a powerful discourse on unity against the threat is articulated, urging citizens in Sweden to be loyal in the national space. Secondly, an affirming national reconstructing discourse is manifested, related to constructions of borders of national space but also in relation to places of family life and social contacts to 'flatten the curve' and stay healthy. Thirdly, later in the period the overarching discourse of the nation and its loyal citizens was torn apart and increasing tensions were articulated due to, as it appeared, the uncertain actions from the government. This study adds to the literature on a theoretical and practical level. Raising awareness on nationalist discourses in relation to place, space, health, and care could prove important in combating inequalities in the local society as well as when cooperating on an international level.

"I Feel Like a Fraud Who Acts Like a Feminist": The Discussion Themes and Sexual Scripts in the Porn Free Women Online Forum.

Research on online pornography abstinence movements has predominantly focused on men's perspectives, often within the context of the broader manosphere. This focus has overshadowed the unique experiences and viewpoints of women in these movements. Our study aimed to fill this gap by exploring women-centric perspectives in pornography abstinence forums, particularly Porn Free Women (r/pornfreewomen). Using a mixed methods approach, this study examined the sexual scripts presented in women-dominated pornography abstinence communities. Our structural topic modeling analysis delineated the interplay of therapeutic, heteronormative, and empowerment themes that were evident in women's narratives and expressions. Further, our discourse analysis elucidated three specific scripts: the addiction script, the heterosexual script, and the liberation script. These interweaving narratives show that discussions of women's pornography abstinence are multifaceted and include a variety of perspectives to negotiate. These results contribute to a nuanced understanding of the values of health and well-being, sexual liberation, and feminism within women's pornography abstinence communities.

What discourses shape and reshape men's experiences of accessing mental health support?

The research employs a single embodied case study design with the aim to examine the discourse of men accessing and receiving mental health support alongside those who are the providers of the support. Three groups of adults were interviewed: men who had experienced mental health problems and had attempted to access mental health support; lay people who supported them, such as partners and non-mental health professionals and professionals, such as mental health nurses, social workers, clinical psychologists and general practitioners. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is used to identify discourses around three emergent themes: well-being, power and dominance and social capital. Participants seeking mental health support often referred to mental health services as not listening or that what was offered was not useful. A lack of belonging and community disconnectedness was apparent throughout all participant interviews. The study is reported according to the COREQ guidelines.

Proposing a new history of grief's medicalisation: A critical discourse analysis.

Conceptualisations of grief have transformed significantly in recent decades, from an experience accepted and expressed in community spaces to a diagnosable clinical phenomenon. Narratives of this transformation tend to focus on grief's relationship to major depression, or on recent nosological changes. This paper examines the possibility of a new narrative for medicalisation by grounding in the networks of language and power created around 'grief' through a critical discourse analysis of psy-discipline articles (n = 70) published between 1975 and 1995. Focusing on shifts in definitions of, methods used to approach, and rationales motivating study of the experience, it posits that the psy-disciplines exerted exclusive expertise over grief decades before its creation as a diagnosis. By reconceptualising grief in the terms of psy-specific symptoms and functional performance and by approaching it with the decontextualising and interventionist methods of an increasingly scientific psy-discipline, the psy-community medicalised grief between 1975 and 1995. Identifying neoliberal and other cultural influences shaping this process of medical construction and reconsidering narratives of grief's history mindful of the powers exerted in medicalisation, this paper establishes that these moments played a critical role in the development of the present's grief.

Erasure of the young trans person: A critical discursive review of contemporary health care literature.

INTRODUCTION: Trans youth experience significantly higher rates of societal violence and ill-health compared to their cisgender peers. Although recent clinical guidelines for trans young people in health have paved the way for revolutionizing care, many trans young people still experience adversity in clinical settings. This discursive literature review provides a novel approach in exploring why trans young people experience violence in health care despite the availability of evidence-based resources and guidelines. DESIGN: Databases (CINAHL and Scopus) were systematically searched to identify qualitative literature on the experiences of trans young people (<18 years) in health care settings. METHOD: Rather than synthesizing and presenting the literature, Fairclough's (2001) CDA methodology was used to critically analyze the literature as texts in a data corpus. The authors engaged with the data from a critical social theory perspective. RESULTS: Fifteen qualitative articles and one report (n = 16) on the experiences of trans young people (3-24 years) in health care settings were included. Two key discourses were identified in the literature. First, discourses that constituted the trans young person were identified in the definitions of 'trans' as a pathological incongruence and as alternate, self-determined ways of being. Further discourses were identified in the constitution of trans young people as victims, extra-pathological, and alternatively problematised as socially dysphoric. Second, discourses in health provider responses were identified in dismissive, gatekeeping, regulatory, and respectful practices. DISCUSSION: The discursive constitution of the trans young person as incongruent, vulnerable, and pathological is constituted and generated by dismissive, gatekeeping, and regulatory practices of health care providers. The analysis reveals how trans young people are considered pathological and deemed treatable (at the site of the body), in the interest of 'protecting' them from a perceived abject future of trans adulthood. The logic and violence of cisgenderism is uncovered as the foundation of these dominant discourses, whereby growing up cisgender is often presented as the only option in health care settings. The dominant discourses that constitute the trans young person in health care as incongruent, pathological, and vulnerable, alongside the reifying health care responses of dismissal, gatekeeping, and regulation contribute to the erasure of the young trans person. CONCLUSION: This paper identified key discourses in the literature in how trans young people are constituted and regulated in health care. This review highlights an urgent need for further critical scholarship in trans health by trans researchers, from critical perspectives. Furthermore, it provides a starting point for critical reflection of health care provider and researcher practices and the re-imagination of trans-futurity for all young people in health care. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Nurses are situated at the forefront of health care delivery and play a crucial role in the advocacy and provision of culturally safe care. With this ideal proximity to clients, nurses can powerfully affect change through better understanding and reflecting on how regulatory practices constitute and position trans young people in health care. Nursing knowledge, such as cultural safety, can offer novel approaches in working towards safer ways of meeting the needs of trans young people.

Encircling discourses-A guide to critical discourse analysis in caring science.

AIM: The aim of this article was to introduce Fairclough's critical discourse analysis (CDA) in caring and nursing science, to provide a guide on how to perform such an analysis, and to describe the wider context of discourse epistemology. DESIGN: The article is designed as a methodological paper, including (a) epistemological roots of discourse analysis, (b) an overview of discourse analytical research within caring and nursing science which points out an increased trend, and (c) a guide to conducting a CDA. ANALYSIS: It is important that discourse analysis is available and accessible to nursing and caring researchers. Through the process of encircling discourses, valuable insight is given into fields that otherwise would be lost or would not be available. CONCLUSION: Our summary stance is that discourse analysis as it is presented in this article is strongly advisable for use in nursing and caring sciences.

"Safety Is Elusive:" A Critical Discourses Analysis of Newspapers' Reporting of Domestic Violence During the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated incidences of domestic violence (DV). The framing of DV within media sources contributes to the public's understanding of DV. Using critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper explores representations of safety within newspapers' reporting of DV during the pandemic. The sample included newspaper articles (n = 31) from U.S. newspapers. The analysis involved multiple rounds of coding and employing "structured questions." These articles depicted limited courses of action for DV survivors and represented safety as unattainable. Safety was constructed in four ways: homes are unsafe, social services are overburdened, government failures, and the elusiveness of safety. These discursive formations provide insight regarding "idealized" social responses to DV.

Exploring feminist political economy and feminist critical discourse analysis as methodologies in critical nursing research.

AIMS: This paper explores two critical feminist methodologies for nursing research: feminist political economy and feminist critical discourse analysis. The aim was to appreciate varied methodological approaches available for nurses to understand complexities in healthcare environments, above and beyond socially normative ways of knowing. DESIGN: Discursive paper. DATA SOURCES: Published articles from nursing databases (CINAHL and ProQuest; no date restrictions) and interdisciplinary databases (Women's Studies International, Sociological Abstracts and Ovid MEDLINE; publication dates between 2017 and 2022). METHODS: A discursive paper exploring and critically synthesizing the literature on feminist political economy and feminist critical discourse analysis to demonstrate how each methodological approach can be used in nursing. RESULTS: The findings of this discursive paper suggest there is an opportunity to draw on interdisciplinary studies for creative insights into how these methodologies may be helpful for nurses' scholarship and programmes of research. Although few nursing studies explicitly name a feminist political economy or feminist critical discourse analysis approach, several studies apply principles of these methodological approaches. CONCLUSION: There is an opportunity for these methodologies to be applied within the same project when there is a fit between the research questions and aims of both methodologies (studies where notions of gender and power are considered central and there are potential insights from exploring social progress, structures and the material, along with the social relations of discourses). IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Feminist political economy and feminist critical discourse analysis offer novel options for methodological analyses. IMPACT: Application of these methodologies may benefit critical nursing scholars looking for diverse critical methodological avenues to explore and to broaden nursing's methodological toolbox towards meeting social justice aims. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of AACN's Tool Kit of Resources for Cultural Competent Education for Baccalaureate Nurses.

American institutions of nursing education have integrated cultural competence as a pillar approach to addressing health disparities. The theoretical frameworks, priorities, and solutions that national organizations pursue and endorse have far-reaching implications. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is one such organization. The purpose of this project was to critically analyze the AACN's Tool Kit of Resources for Cultural Competent Education for Baccalaureate Nurses to excavate dynamics related to language, power, and inequality. Findings of this critical discourse analysis indicate: (1) the centrality of the AACN's assumed authority and lack of relationality with readers, (2) nursing insularity and narrow theorization of culture and power, and (3) the harm of whiteness and colonialism as pedagogy. Accountability and repair include transparency, taking note of resources and viewpoints available and endorsed on organization websites, and updating (or refuting) outdated and harmful approaches.

Themes and ideologies in China's diplomatic discourse - a corpus-assisted discourse analysis in China's official speeches.

Diplomatic discourse is a formalized form of political communication that significantly influences a country's international perception. However, there is a research gap in the analysis of China's diplomatic discourse, particularly in relation to the speeches available on the official Chinese Foreign Ministry website. This study aims to address this gap by conducting a quantitative and qualitative analysis of China's diplomatic speeches. This study utilizes a quantitative corpus-assisted discourse analysis to explore the prevalent themes in China's official speeches. Additionally, qualitative discourse analysis is employed to examine the ideologies manifested in specific examples from the official speeches. The research combines a corpus-based approach with critical discourse analysis to investigate language use, discourse practices, and social practices. The analysis of China's diplomatic discourse reveals several key themes related to President Xi Jinping's leadership, international relations, and future community and economy. The findings provide valuable insights into China's diplomatic strategies and its international image, emphasizing its commitment to cooperation, development, and peace. This research contributes to a better understanding of China's diplomatic discourse and its role in shaping international perceptions of the country. By highlighting the prevalent themes and ideologies in China's official speeches, the study emphasizes China's commitment to fostering positive international relations. The findings offer valuable insights into China's diplomatic strategies and its efforts to shape its international image.

Violencia urbana, "limpieza social" y conflicto armado en Caldas, 1980-2006

Se abordan las formas de violencia que afectan los contextos urbanos, conocidas como "limpieza social", en el departamento de Caldas entre 1980 y 2006. Estas se analizarán junto con el crecimiento de los grupos armados ilegales, con especial énfasis en el paramilitarismo. El objetivo es evidenciar las estrategias discursivas que se aplican por parte de sectores poderosos para estigmatizar ciertas prácticas y actores sociales, principalmente a través de los medios de comunicación. Se apeló al Análisis Crítico del Discurso, aplicado a los enunciados referentes al fenómeno en cuestión, y se siguieron las tesis de Foucault en lo referente a los dispositivos de normalización y la discriminación entre lo normal y lo anormal en la dinámica de las relaciones de poder También se asume la perspectiva moral que se halla en la base de la "limpieza social" y se postulan las razones de su persistencia. Los resultados muestran un proceso que va de la dispersión a la sistematicidad en relación con el exterminio social y sus manifestaciones discursivas. Las conclusiones dan cuenta de la persistencia del fenómeno en contextos contemporáneos.

The forms of violence that affect urban contexts, generally known as "social cleansing", are addressed in the department of Caldas between 1980 and 2006. These will be analyzed along with the growth of the illegal armed groups, with special emphasis on paramilitarism. The objective is to highlight the discursive strategies that are applied by powerful groups to stigmatize certain practices and social actors, mainly through the media. Critical discourse analysis was used, applied to the statements referring the mentioned phenomenon, and Foucault's thesis regarding normalization devices and discrimination between normal and abnormal in the dynamics of power relations were followed. The moral perspective that is at the base of "social cleansing" is also assumed and the reasons for its persistence are postulated. The results show a process that goes from dispersion to systematicity in relation to social extermination and its discursive manifestations. The conclusions show the persistence of the phenomenon in contemporary contexts.

São abordadas as formas de violência que afetam os contextos urbanos, conhecidas como "limpeza social", no departamento de Caldas entre 1980 e 2006. Elas serão analisadas juntamente com o crescimento de grupos armados ilegais, com ênfase especial no paramilitarismo. O objetivo é destacar as estratégias discursivas aplicadas por setores poderosos para estigmatizar determinadas práticas e atores sociais, principalmente por meio da mídia. A Análise Crítica do Discurso foi aplicada às declarações referentes ao fenômeno em questão, e a tese de Foucault foi seguida em relação aos dispositivos de normalização e à discriminação entre o normal e o anormal na dinâmica das relações de poder. Ela também assume a perspectiva moral que está na base da "limpeza social" e postula as razões de sua persistência. Os resultados mostram um proceso que vai da dispersão à sistematicidade em relação ao extermínio social e suas manifestações discursivas. As conclusões mostram a persistência do fenômeno em contextos contemporâneos.

Kindness in British communities: Discursive practices of promoting kindness during the Covid pandemic.

This research adopts Critical Discourse Analysis as a perspective to explore how kindness was expressed and promoted in university communities and city communities from January to March in 2020 when the Covid pandemic broke out in the UK and provide a window on British culture in which kindness was expressed and promoted through discourse. It combines a qualitative method with a corpus-based quantitative method. It is found that kindness was meant for providing support and showing compassion and inclusion to community members and that strategies in lexis, syntax and metaphor can reproduce or resist the expression and promotion of kindness in communities. During the pandemic, the intentional kindness expressed by community authorities was respect of diversity rather than inclusion of different values or ethnicity and no substantial support was provided to vulnerable members even though authorities were trying to impress the public by claiming that they were making constant efforts to support the community. Case studies revealed that we should caution against the use of passivation and the pronouns like they.

Family relationships as a source of narrative identity of people with advanced dementia.

BACKGROUND: The growing body of research on narrative identity, while helpful, rarely focuses on people with dementia. In this paper, we explore how individuals living with advanced dementia construct their narrative identities in relation to their family experiences, which play a crucial role in shaping identity as shown by recent studies. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study using data from 15 semi-structured interviews with people aged 66 to 94 who have advanced dementia. The data were analyzed using a textual-oriented discourse analysis. RESULTS: We identified two discourses-autobiographical and economic-that organize their narrative identities. Through the autobiographical discourse, participants emphasized their sense of belonging within a social group and their role as custodians of family identity. Within the economic discourse, they negotiated their social utility and value, particularly in response to demeaning discourses targeting individuals who do not accumulate wealth. In the structural analysis, we identified two narrative types-looped or unfolding-that depend on their affective experiences related to their family. We especially explored how the repetition of narrative threads by individuals with dementia might indicate a traumatic background rather than just memory disruptions. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insights into the narrative identities of individuals with advanced dementia, shedding light on the intersection of family experiences and identity formation in this population.

The beautification of men within skincare advertisements: A multimodal critical discourse analysis.

This study draws on the theory of Social Semiotics and the methodology of Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) to examine the textual and visual design of skincare advertisements targeted towards men. The current proliferation of the market for male-oriented facial products represents an important shift towards the increased attention to the beautification of male bodies in Western societies. Such beautification encourages men to work on and improve the self (and face) through intensifying practices of "aesthetic labour." Aesthetic labour places emphasis on an entrepreneurial self-care and self-control regime that promotes an active late lifestyle fostered through ideas about "successful ageing." As expected, the analysis of the corpus consisting of advertisements from L'Oréal Men, Nivea Men and Clarins Men shows that the male face is generally constructed as a "problem" that can be cured through the consumption of skincare products. The consumption of these products increases men's visual literacies of the face and hence normalises male beauty practices that seemingly encourage men to care for and work on their skin, which can be construed of as a feminising practice. Nonetheless, the advertisements employ masculine traits and strategies that link cosmetic products to traditional values of masculinity. The beautification of the male body, thus, turns the consumption of skincare products into a performance through which men can maintain their already privileged status in society, rearticulating the double standard of ageing (Sontag, 1972).

Understanding Dalit equity: a critical analysis of primary health care policy discourse of Kerala in the context of 'Aardram' mission.

BACKGROUND: The Government of Kerala in 2017 launched the Aardram Mission with the aim to revamp public health delivery in the State. A key strategy under the mission was its focus on comprehensive primary health care to achieve equitable health care delivery through the Family Health Centre (FHC) initiative. Given this, the current study aims to examine the primary health care policy discourse for their perspectives on caste-driven inequities. METHODS: The study undertook a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the primary health care policy discourse in Kerala. This included CDA of spoken words by senior health policy actors and policy texts on Aardram Mission and FHC. RESULTS: Though equity was a major aspirational goal of the Mission, related policy discourse around equity failed to acknowledge caste as a potential axis of health marginalisation in the State. The dismissal of caste manifested in three major ways within the policy discourse. One, the 'invisibilisation' of caste-driven inequities through strategies of (un)conscious exclusion of Dalit issues and 'obliteration' of caste differences through the construction of abstract and homogenous groups that invisibilise Dalits. Secondly, locating caste as a barrier to primary health care initiatives and health equity in the state, and finally through the maintenance of an 'apoliticised' social determinants discourse that fails to recognize the role of caste in shaping health disparities, specifically among Dalits in Kerala. CONCLUSION: Given Kerala's renewed commitment to strengthening its public health provisioning, the acknowledgment of caste-driven inequities is invariable in its path toward health equity and social justice.

Dynamics of single mothers' semantic strategies in Anglophone non-fiction.

The article discusses how the increasing number of self-help books for single mothers is meeting the demand for positive narratives about their experiences, which are often stereotyped in the media. The books offer a powerful tool for self-reflection, and content analysis reveals semantic strategies that authors use to construct, negotiate, and reframe single motherhood. The authors aim to challenge societal expectations and redefine what constitutes a family. There are still conflicting messages that perpetuate negative stereotypes and stigmas about single mothers, propelling identity negotiation. The seven principal semantic strategies applied in the texts include reframing, renaming, normalization, direct or indirect confrontations, distinctions, self-labelling, and vernacular. By using semantic strategies, authors aim to empower single mothers, challenge negative stereotypes, and create a sense of community. While there are limitations to the self-help genre, it remains a powerful tool for self-reflection, self-empowerment, and the construction of identity.

Nurses' ways of talking about their experiences of (in)justice in healthcare organizations: Locating the use of language as a means of analysis.

Nurses have their own ways of talking about their experiences of injustice in healthcare organizations. The aim of this article is to describe how nurses talk about their work-life experiences and discuss the discursive effects that arise from nurses' use of language regarding their political agency. To this end, we present the findings garnered from a study focused on exploring how nurses deploy their political agency to project their idea of social and political justice in public healthcare organizations and how they face the challenges and uncertainties of (re)thinking their institutional order when it does not resonate with their professional ethos. We then discuss the implications that nurses' use of language has in relation to their ability to deploy their political agency to oppose the forms of injustice they face in their daily practice. We conclude by stating that careful attention should be placed on understanding the discursive implications of nurses' use of language on their individual and collective emancipation in healthcare organizations.

The absence of language: A critical race discourse analysis of Ontario's child welfare legislation and the impacts on Black families.

BACKGROUND: The research pertaining to racial disparities for Black families in child welfare is relatively limited in Canada. Recent research reveals that the overrepresentation of Black families in Canadian child welfare systems typically begins at the reporting or investigation stage and continues throughout the child welfare service and decision-making continuum. This research is occurring against the backdrop of increasing public acknowledgement of Canada's historic anti-Black policy-making and institutional relationships to Black communities. Though there is increased awareness about anti-Black racism, there has been limited exploration of the connection between anti-Black racism in child welfare legislation and how this policy generates disparities for Black families in both child welfare involvement and outcomes - this paper seeks to fill this gap in knowledge. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to explore the entrenchment of anti-Black racism within the child welfare system by critically assessing the language and absence of language within the guiding legislative and implementation policies. METHODS: Utilizing a critical race discourse analysis method, this study explores the entrenchment of anti-Black racism within the Ontario child welfare system by critically assessing the language and absence of language within the guiding legislative policies that shape practice for Black children, youth, and families. RESULTS: The findings revealed that though the legislation does not explicitly address anti-Black racism, there were instances where the legislation indicated that race and culture may be considered in responding to children and families. The lack of specificity, particularly in the Duty to Report, has the potential to contribute to disparate reporting and decision-making for Black families. CONCLUSIONS: Policy makers should acknowledge the history of anti-Black racism that informed the development of the legislation in Ontario and move towards tackling systemic injustices that disproportionately affect Black families. More explicit language will shape future policies and practices to ensure that the impact of anti-Black racism is considered across the child welfare continuum.

Nurses' discursive construction of older adult immigrant patients in hospitals.

BACKGROUND: The immigrant population across Europe is ageing rapidly. Nurses will likely encounter an increasing number of patients who are older adult immigrants. Moreover, access to and equal provision of healthcare is a key issue for several European countries. The relationship between nurses and patients is asymmetrical with unequal power relations; however, the way nurses construct the patient through language and discourse can help maintain or change the balance of power. Unequal power relations can affect access and be a hindrance to equal healthcare delivery. Hence, the aim of this study is to explore how older adult immigrants are discursively constructed as patients by nurses. METHODS: An exploratory qualitative design was used. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of eight nurses from two hospitals. The nurses' narratives were analysed using critical discourse analysis (CDA) as described by Fairclough. RESULTS: The analysis identified an overarching, stable, and dominant discursive practice; 'The discourse of the other', with three interdiscursive practices: (1) 'The discourse on the immigrant patient versus an ideal patient'; (2) 'The expert discourse'; and (3) 'The discourse of adaption'. Older immigrant adults were constructed as 'othered' patients, they were different, alienated, and 'they' were not like 'us'. CONCLUSION: The way nurses construct older adult immigrants as patients can be an obstacle to equitable health care. The discursive practice indicates a social practice in which paternalism overrides the patient's autonomy and generalization is more prevalent than a person-centred approach. Furthermore, the discursive practice points to a social practice wherein the nurses' norms form the basis for normal; normality is presumed and desirable. Older adult immigrants do not conform to these norms; hence, they are constructed as 'othered', have limited agency, and may be considered rather powerless as patients. However, there are some examples of negotiated power relations where more power is transferred to the patient. The discourse of adaptation refers to a social practice in which nurses challenge their own existing norms to best adapt a caring relationship to the patient's wishes.

A critique of the policy discourse on primary health care under the Aardram mission of Kerala.

In 2017, the State of Kerala in India, launched the 'Aardram' mission for health. One of the aims of the mission was to enhance the primary health care (PHC) provisioning in the state through the family health centre (FHC) initiative. This was envisaged through a comprehensive PHC approach that prioritized preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative services, and social determinants of health. Given this backdrop, the study aimed to examine the renewed policy commitment towards comprehensive PHC and the extent to which it remains true to the globally accepted ideals of PHC. This was undertaken using a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the policy discourse on PHC. This included examining the policy documents related to FHC and Aardram as well as the narratives of policy-level actors on PHC and innovations for them. Through CDA we examined the discursive representation of PHC and innovations for improving it at the level of local governments in the state. Though the mission envisaged a shift from the influence of market-driven ideas of health, analysis of the current policy discourse on PHC suggested otherwise. The discourse continues to carry a curative care bias within its ideas of PHC. The disproportionate emphasis on strategies for early detection, treatment and infrastructural improvements meant limited space for preventive, protective and promotive dimensions, thus digressing from the gatekeeping role of PHC. The reduced emphasis on preventive and promotive dimensions and depoliticization of social determinants of health within the PHC discourse indicates that, in the long run, the mission puts at risk its stated goals of social justice and health equity envisioned in the FHC initiative.