title: [Community health agents' musculoskeletal pain and quality of life].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was aimed at assessing the impact of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) on the quality of life (QL) of community health agents' (CHA) working in Jequié, Bahia, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytic census type study in which 316 CHA participated. The instruments used were a questionnaire, containing demographic information regarding occupational and MSP, and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire for assessing QL. Descriptive statistics and the Mann Whitney test (5% significance level) were used on the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The WHOQOL-BREF physical and environmental domains returned scores lower than the psychological and social ones. MSP prevalence was 84.8% considering the past seven days; the legs was the region reported to suffer most (70.9 %). All QLareas were compromised in the CHA group reporting MSP compared to the group without symptoms (p<0.001physical domain, p<0.001 psychological, p=0.001 social relation ships and p<0.001 environment).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study showed that MSP could be considered an important factor compromising the QL of CHA working in Jequié, Bahia. Specific public policy must thus be implemented for dealing with this, thereby contributing to improving CHA working conditions and quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Saúde da Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste, Bahia, Brasil. claudio12fisio@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Claudio H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Meira-Mascarenhas
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ornellas-Prado
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henrique-Fernandes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003150:Community Health Workers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires