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 work of community health agents (CHA) was established as a profession in the sphere of the National Health System (SUS) in 2002. Its activities contribute to the demographic diagnosis of communities, the promotion of educational activities, the participation of the population in public policy, and home visits. Training is the responsibility of technical schools and human resources education centers of the SUS. This research seeks to identify, analyze and understand the changes in the life of the CHA since the agent's insertion in the Qualification and Professional Development Program and of his/ her professional practice. Methodologically, this is a qualitative study that uses focus groups. For data analysis, we used the technique of content analysis. It was found that the Program favors the consolidation of attention to health policies and contributes to the collective construction of knowledge. The Ministry of Health, by professionalizing the practice of the CHA, legitimizes the CHA´s knowledge supporting their inclusion in health services and increasing the local governance. For the CHA, training contributes to the overcoming of limits imposed by traditional practices and marks the production of knowledge. The ACS recognizes itself as a subject of action, and that training is a means of access to professionalization and social mobility.
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