Agente comunitário de saúde: perfil e profissionalização

Abstract

Aim: The research discusses the profile and formation of the community health agents, because there is no clarity about the kind of professional needed and what type of formation is appropriate to the fulfillment of this function. Method: The research is a case study with exploratory methodology and qualitative approach. The data was collected with a focused group, formed by ten agents, intentional selected from those with more time in service in Family Health Strategy from the municipality of Santa Maria (RS). The discussions were recorded and later transcribed by the researcher. The data collected was interpreted by content analysis. Results: The results point to some important questions concerning the identity of the community health agents: integration on the health team, insertion in the community, profile and formation. Conclusions: The profile, which emerges from the research, is not different from that proposed by the Ministry of Health. However, the difference is in the search for professionalization