title: Community healthcare workers' perception of an educational intervention in the care of patients with sickle cell disease in Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite advances in the management of sickle cell disease, gaps still exist in the training of primary healthcare professionals for monitoring patients with the disease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the perception of community healthcare workers about the care and monitoring of patients with sickle cell disease after an educational intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  This exploratory, descriptive, and the qualitative study was conducted in Montes Claros, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The intervention involved the educational training of community healthcare workers from the Family Health Program of the Brazilian Unified Health System. The focus group technique was used to collect the data. The following topics were covered in the discussion: assessment of educational workshops, changes observed in the perception of professionals after training, profile of home visits, and access to and provision of basic healthcare services to individuals with sickle cell disease. The discussions were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were subjected to content analysis and empirically organized into two categories.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Changes in the healthcare practices of community health workers were observed after the educational intervention. The prioritization of healthcare services for patients with sickle cell disease and monitoring of clinical warning signs in healthcare units were observed. Furthermore, changes were observed in the profile of home visits to patients, which were performed using a script provided in the educational intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The educational intervention significantly changed the work process of community health workers concerning patient monitoring in primary healthcare.
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Ações e Pesquisa em Apoio Diagnóstico, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ludmila Mourão Xavier
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thiago Luis
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: de Andrade Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Brazil.
authors.forename: Elen Débora Souza
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lara Jhulian Tolentino
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Brazil.
authors.forename: Karla Patrícia Ataíde Nery
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Brazil.
authors.forename: Igor Alcântara
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Brazil.
authors.forename: Antônio Prates
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Caldeira
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Nursing, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Heloísa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: de Carvalho Torres
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Ações e Pesquisa em Apoio Diagnóstico, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos Borato
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Viana