ABSTRACT:
The global agenda of Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion and Sustainability demands critical reflection on how structural inequalities shape health workforce education. In Brazil, structural racism, poverty, and gender- and sexuality-based violence intersect with territories and the bodies of health professionals in training. Although approximately 56% of the Brazilian population identifies as Black, this group experiences the worst health indicators nationwide, while the country remains among those with the highest rates of violence against women and LGBTQIAPN+ populations. Within this context, health residents—particularly those working in Black, peripheral, and socially marginalized territories—experience emotional overload, psychological distress, and institutional invisibilization. These conditions challenge sustainability of health work and call for decolonial approaches to public health training. This qualitative study is grounded in the methodology of Escrevivências, as proposed by Conceição Evaristo, understood as a situated, collective, and political writing practice that challenges Eurocentric epistemologies in health education. The experience was conducted in 2025 with final-year health residents (R2) from the Health Residency Programs of the Espírito Santo Institute for Teaching, Research and Innovation in Health (ICEPi), across municipalities in Espírito Santo, Brazil. Reflective circles were combined with narrative writing on residents’ experiences throughout their R1 and R2 trajectories. Narratives were analyzed thematically. Escrevivências emerged as a decolonial strategy for individual and collective self-care, enabling residents to elaborate experiences marked by institutional racism, gender inequalities, LGBTQIAPN+phobia, displacement from territories of origin, and labor precarization in health services. The reflective spaces strengthened social bonds, expanded critical awareness of territorial health inequities, and fostered networks of care, solidarity, and theory–practice. In conclusion, incorporating Escrevivências as a formative policy within health residency programs contributes to decolonizing public health education by promoting equity, inclusion, and sustainability. This experience demonstrates a replicable, context-sensitive approach aligned with global public health agendas committed to social justice and health equity.