O Agente Comunitário de Saúde: percepções e interpretações quanto a seu perfil e seu papel na Estratégia Saúde da Família da cidade de Montes Claros – MG

Abstract

In Brazil´s National Health System (SUS), the Family Healthcare Strategy (ESF) was established as an alternative to the traditional care model, bringing a new conception of the health and disease. In its multi-professional healthcare teams, the Community Health Agent (ACS) was added with the role of realizing the interlocution between community and healthcare team, uniting two points of view - the popular and scientific knowledge. This study investigates and describes the profile of the ACSs and their role in the family healthcare teams in the city of Montes Claros-MG, using four categories, suggested in a document of the Brazilian Ministry of Health (2004) and characterized as: know-being, know-knowing, know-doing and know-living. Using semi-structured interviews with 15 ACS, their working process, training process and interpersonal relationships, from their point of view, was investigated. Data analysis was guided by the Collective Subject´s Discourse (DSC) which revealed the following central ideas: (1) Know-being: being meaning, motivation, qualities/values, negative attributes, facilitators and difficult issues, expectations; (2) Know-knowing: the process of permanent education in health, (lack of) knowledge of the principles of the SUS; (3) Know-doing: tasks, community activities, planning, reception, situations of risk, assessment, ethics, satisfaction; (4) Know-living: team work, community work, team interaction, community, stability in the profession. It is concluded that the agents understand and develop their role as educator and community partner through relational technologies that favor the establishment of links. However, the valorization and the demand for biomedical practices, diverts and limits the dimensions of their practice, reducing their role to a marker of consultations and representative of the health service only and not of the community. This misunderstanding of its role requires more investment to build a contextualized social care and reorganization of the care model, highlighting the importance of permanent education.