title: [Profile and procedures of the community health agents regarding oral health in the countryside of Piauí State, Brazil].
abstract: The aim of this survey was to draw the demographic profile and the actions concerning oral health carried out by the communitarian agents of health, in small towns of Piauí State, Brazil. Four towns were chosen: Agua Branca, Piracuruca, Queimada Nova e Simões. The method used was observational descriptive cross-sectional. One hundred and nine agents were assessed through questionnaires, with 28 multiples choice questions. Data was analyzed in Excel. It was possible to conclude that: the communitarian agents on the countryside of Piauí are predominantly females, married, age between 20-39, with one to three children, nine years of formal education, monthly income of one minimum salary, and has been living in their community for 24 years in average; the large majority of the agents has not received specific qualification to carry out their job, has not attended lectures on oral health, although almost half of them works on activities related to oral health, despite not registering them properly; they perceive themselves as having a fair knowledge of oral health, which coincided with the assessment collected by the questionnaire.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia e Clínica Odontológica, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Teresina, PI, Brazil. marcoeli-moura@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Marcoeli Silva de
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.forename: Claro José de
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: José Tadeu Cavalcante de
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Amorim
authors.forename: Maurílio Francisco Soares Siqueira
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Lúcia de Fátima Almeida de Deus
authors.initials: Lde F
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.forename: Regina Ferraz
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Mendes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003150:Community Health Workers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D055815:Young Adult