The increasing schooling of the community health agent: an induction of the work process?

Community health agents (CHA) are among the professional players that make up the Family Health Strategy (FHS) teams, and their performance is considered as critical to the expansion and consolidation of this strategy. Since the first local experiences with CHAs in the late 1970s, their sociodemographic profile has been changing. This article aims to present and discuss the aspect of education and training of the CHAs who work in Program Area (PA) 5.2 of the city of Rio de Janeiro, integrating work and education and understanding the work as an emancipatory principle. This study was formulated based on the methodological triangulation idea, reached here based on the original formulation of Denzin. Data on the CHAs' education were obtained via an individual self-applied questionnaire answered by 301 of the CHAs of the 12 FHS modules and six Community Health Workers Strategy (CHWS) modules of PA 5.2. The presentation and discussion of the data show changes in this worker's educational profile, and it can be concluded that the CHA is a worker who is in search of alternative schooling and vocational training. An expansion of the schooling and technical education is defended as a process to consolidate the Unified Health System.

community health agent; schooling; vocational training