Tensions and challenges between community health agents and their teams

Primary Health Care (PHC) in Brazil consists of Family Health Strategy (FHS) teams, composed of medical professionals, nurses, nursing technicians, dentists, dental technicians and Community Health Agents (CHA). As a gateway to the healthcare model, the FHS is the first contact of users with the health system. Therefore, because of its proximity to the community and families, the CHA becomes the first professional to identify and accept cases. This article proposes to analyze the relationship between the CHA and the teams from a schizoanalytic perspective. The results point to an overload of work on the CHA and power relations based on knowledge leading to its devaluation by the team. We conclude that, despite these tensions, the work of the CHA is essential for the consolidation of Primary Health Care in Brazil.Keywords: Primary Health Care. Community Health Agent. Power relationships. Biopower

Tensions and challenges between community health agents and their teams

Primary Health Care (PHC) in Brazil consists of Family Health Strategy (FHS) teams, composed of medical professionals, nurses, nursing technicians, dentists, dental technicians and Community Health Agents (CHA). As a gateway to the healthcare model, the FHS is the first contact of users with the health system. Therefore, because of its proximity to the community and families, the CHA becomes the first professional to identify and accept cases. This article proposes to analyze the relationship between the CHA and the teams from a schizoanalytic perspective. The results point to an overload of work on the CHA and power relations based on knowledge leading to its devaluation by the team. We conclude that, despite these tensions, the work of the CHA is essential for the consolidation of Primary Health Care in Brazil.Keywords: Primary Health Care. Community Health Agent. Power relationships. Biopower

AGENTES COMUNITÁRIOS DE SAÚDE NA ATENÇÃO PRIMÁRIA NO BRASIL: MULTIPLICIDADE DE ATIVIDADES E FRAGILIZAÇÃO DA FORMAÇÃO

Resumo O estudo teve como objetivo avaliar, mediante revisão integrativa, o conhecimento produzido na literatura acerca das atividades desempenhadas pelos agentes comunitários de saúde no Brasil e em outros países. A busca de dados, realizada no período de 2010 a 2014, abrangeu: Portal de Periódicos da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior; biblioteca eletrônica Scientific Electronic Library Online; Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde; Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System On-line e US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Dos 240 estudos identificados, 27 foram incluídos nesta revisão. A literatura evidencia as funções que os agentes comunitários de saúde exercem, em variedade de ações em diversos contextos geográficos e culturais. O agente tem diferentes inserções no mercado de trabalho e vivencia fragilidades, oriundas de contextos socioculturais da comunidade, da necessidade de maior reconhecimento do sistema de saúde e da equipe. Sua posição entre a comunidade e a equipe de saúde é estratégica, contribuindo para a saúde da comunidade. Deve-se proporcionar formação propícia à sua atuação e possibilitar o acesso à educação permanente, além de se promoverem recursos para maior valorização da equipe de saúde em sua relação com a sociedade