IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to understand the perception of the Endemic Diseases Combat Agents (EDCA) about their work context, mainly focusing the relationship between work and health, within the Municipal Health Department of Belo Horizonte.MethodsThis is a qualitative study, under the theoretical contribution of the Work Clinics, with emphasis on Psychosociology and Clinic of Activity. The methodological procedures were bibliographic search, document analysis and focus group. The analysis of the data was based on the Bardin’s Content Analysis.ResultsThe study showed that the professionals realise that the zoonosis service is not effectively integrated in health units. This not-belonging is one of the causes of the precarious working conditions, the feeling of invisibility and the symbolic and concrete marginalisation reported by the professionals. The Endemic Diseases Combat Agents recognise the risks to which they are exposed, highlighting the various forms of violence and lack of adequate equipment. Given the organisation of the work, they use strategies of resistance and build creative alternatives in order to defend the good work and for preservation of health at work.DiscussionAn organisation reproduces a logic that prevails in society; values, expected behaviours, kinds of relationship, so it is important, the institution perceives its internal contradictions, questioning about its institutional mission and its practices. Thus, although laws and regulations define and encourage the integration of EDCA to primary care teams, this process still needs to be discussed collectively in the SMSA at all levels of management.
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