[Consumers and health policies: reports and perspectives]

The French public power-base imagined that the involvement and participation of consumers in decision-making could render the debates on health policies more transparent when faced with the opposing professional and techno-administrative logics. One could also ask oneself what is the true reality of this participation. The research strategy is based on the intersection and overlap of data resulting from the analysis of minutes reported from semi-guided interviews with regional and national referential persons, consumers and from documents concerning the construction and implementation of national, regional and local health policies. This study demonstrates that, from 1996 to 2002, consumers were associated with and implicated in the development and implementation of national, regional and local health policies. Exemplary success stories exist which testify to the possibility of anchoring a democratic consultation model in health institutions irrespective of the level of decision-making, application or operationalisation. Recommendations are proposed in order to strengthen these dynamic forces and relationships.