[Community health agents: training, involvement, and practices].
The aim of this study was to identify contributions by the training course for community health agents provided by the Municipal Health Secretariat in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil, from 2001 to 2003, to evaluate their assessment concerning its role in the community, and to identify its impact on their professional practice. This was a qualitative health study using the focus group technique, and the empirical data were analyzed with thematic content analysis. Training of community health agents aimed to include a professional capable of reflecting on and intervening in the local reality. The Family Health Program-Paidéia included community health agents in the health system to help reorganize the activities in the primary health care units and consolidate the model. The training allowed community health agents to act as educational protagonists, producing emancipative knowledge and encouraging reflection and the capacity for critical analysis, including daily practice as a key determinant of their learning process in the search for solutions to the community's problems.
Centro de Ciências da Vida, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas, Rua Barreto Leme 2540, Campinas, SP, Brazil. betlelo@uol.com.br
Elisabet Pereira Lelo
EP
Nascimento
Carlos Roberto da Silveira
CR
Correa
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001938:Brazil; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005192:Family Health; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006281:Health Occupations / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D015397:Program Evaluation