O que sabe o agente comunitário de saúde ?

Abstract

The debate about a new orientation of health assistance models is highlighted after Brazilian Health Ministry developed Community Health Agents Program and Family Health Program (late 90 s). Family Health Program then begins to be seen by health workers as a model that is able to make changes not only in health care itself but also in processes dynamics. This new model aims preventive actions and health promotion. It substitutes traditional strategies, which are more related to disease and hospitals. This model also aims to address attention to the target population health necessities, families and their territory and intersectional actions. Health workers from different professions form the teams and this fact is one of the most important features regarding health care. The Community Health Agent plays a very important role helping the model change, working intensively to provide care and organization of such assistance. Some conflicts come up as one gets aware of potentials and interaction possibilities among the several aspects this agent can offer in the health care context. This research has aimed to investigate the perception from Community Health Agents of the city of Petropolis, RJ Brazil, about the knowledges involved in their practice. The methodology used for data collection was semistructured interview. The text generated by the interviews was analysed based on Discourse Analysis Theory. Through this study one can come to the conclusion that the Community Health Agents knowledge appears to be more than only being a link or to make links. The study discusses that the potential of that knowledge plays a sewing cord between the community and the health care proposals. This image indicates that, as sometimes the Community Health Agents belongs to both fabrics , and by switching the position, from the community fabric to Heath Unit fabric , the Agent can bring those parts together, looking for a sort of unification. As a patchwork sheet, where each part keeps its root design and patterns, but when they are sewed together, they form one whole thing.