Social participation and quality of health care: the experience of citizens' health representatives in Mexico.

OBJECTIVE This article describes the experience of the aval ciudadano "Citizens' Representative" (CR) in improving the Mexican health care system. METHODS This is a qualitative study which took place in eight Mexican states in 2008. It evaluates different aspects of a nationwide program to increase the quality of health care services (National Crusade for Quality in Health Services). The Mexican strategy is compared with experiences in other Latin American countries. RESULTS In this paper, there is the description of achievements and problems encountered by the CR in promoting social participation in the health of the population. CONCLUSIONS The CR has great influence when representing health service users and passing on their demands for improvements to health care quality.