Trabalho, Educação e Saúde - TES (Work, Education and Health) is an open access scientific journal, edited by the Joaquim Venâncio Polytechnic School of Health, from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.
The study aimed to analyze the work process of the community health agent with the older adults population, with special emphasis on home visits in the municipality of Foz do Iguaçu, Parana (Southern Brazil). A cross-sectional, analytical-descriptive study with a mixed approach was designed. A total of 114 community health workers participated, with a predominance of women, mean age of 43.2 (SD 10.76) years, white skin color, married marital status, Catholic religion, and complete high school as the highest level of education. Three discursive categories emerged that describe the challenges faced by these professionals in working with the older people: the ‘epidemiological territory’ brings together the health demands of the elderly accompanied by the workers; the ‘clinical approach’ discusses aspects of the care model of the family health strategy; and ‘community life’ takes up the issue of social relations between the older people and the environment. The study showed that home visits are the main activity developed by community health workers with the older population. Findings of the study offer contributions to local health management through the discussion of the challenges faced by a significant segment of health professionals allocated to Primary Health Care.
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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2304-3241