Contribution of community health workers to primary health care performance in Brazil

Santos, Alaneir de Fátima dos; Rocha, Hugo André da; Lima, Ângela de Lourdes Dayrell de Maria; Abreu, Daisy Maria Xavier de; Silva, Érica Araújo; Araújo, Lucas Henrique Lobato de; Cavalcante, Isabela Cristina Carreiro; Matta-Machado, Antônio Thomaz Gonzaga da

doi:10.11606/s1518-8787.2020054002327

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Estudos têm relatado as contribuições das ACS para abordar questões sociais e de saúde onde esta categoria tem contribuído para resultados importantes tais como redução de internações sensíveis à APS e impactos positivos nos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio [30][31][32] .…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Agentes Comunitárias de Saúde: o que dizem os estudos internacionais?

Méllo

Santos

Albuquerque

2023

Ciênc. saúde coletiva

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Resumo Trata-se de uma revisão narrativa cujo objetivo é compreender o estado da arte da literatura sobre programas de Agentes Comunitárias de Saúde (ACS) no mundo, identificando suas nomenclaturas, práticas, formação e condições trabalhistas. A grande concentração de programas de ACS ainda ocorre em países de baixa e média renda da África (18), Ásia (12) e América Latina (05), com algumas poucas experiências em países de alta renda na América do Norte (02) e Oceania (01). No total foram catalogadas 38 experiências, tendo sido descritas as práticas de cuidado, vigilância, educação, comunicação em saúde, práticas administrativas, de articulação intersetorial e mobilização social. Caracterizou-se os níveis e duração das formações das ACS, assim como as diversas condições de trabalho em cada país. Em grande parte, o trabalho é precarizado, muitas vezes voluntário e realizado por mulheres. A revisão proporcionou um panorama comparativo que pode contribuir para enriquecer o olhar de gestores e tomadores de decisão em contextos de implantação, ampliação e reconfiguração de tais programas.

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Section: Discussionunclassified

Agentes Comunitárias de Saúde: o que dizem os estudos internacionais?

Méllo

Santos

Albuquerque

2023

Ciênc. saúde coletiva

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“…Studies have reported the CHW contributions to treat these social and health questions, where this category has contributed to important results, including the reduction in hospitalizations sensitive to CHWs and positive impacts in the Millennium Development Goals [30][31][32] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Health Workers: what do international studies tell us?

Méllo

Santos

Albuquerque

2023

Ciênc. saúde coletiva

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This is a narrative review whose objective is to understand the state of the art of the literature on Community Health Worker (CHW) programs worldwide, identifying their nomenclatures, practices, training, and working conditions. The major concentration of CHW programs can still be found in low- and middle-income countries in Africa (18), Asia (12), and Latin America (05), with a few experiences in high-income countries in North America (02) and Oceania (01). In total, 38 experiences were cataloged, and the practices of care, surveillance, education, health communication, administrative practices, intersectoral articulation, and social mobilization were described. The levels and duration of CHW training were characterized, as were the different working conditions in each country. Much of the work is precarious, often voluntary and carried out by women. This review provided a comparative overview that can contribute to enrich the view of managers and decision-makers in contexts of the implementation, expansion, and reconfiguration of such programs.

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“…Nonetheless, some studies demonstrate that nonphysician health workers can serve many aspects of primary care functions, including diagnosis and management, with equal or greater reliability and at lower cost [ 17 , 18 ]. A positive correlation was also found between the high activity of community health workers and PHC practices targeting hypertension, diabetes, children’s health and women's health [ 19 ]. Of note, we found that having less than two operators for spirometry was a risk factor for standard units; that is, being equipped with more operators for spirometry may make it easier for the institutions to reach the standard.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current status of prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases in primary care in China: a cross-sectional study

Chen

Sun

et al. 2022

BMC Pulm Med

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Background China launched its new round of health care reform to develop primary care in 2009, establishing 954,390 primary care institutions that employed over 10 million staff by 2019. However, some studies have shown that the prevention and management of respiratory diseases is inadequate in these institutions. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of grassroots institutions throughout China between September and December 2020 based on the standardized Prevention and Treatment System and Capacity Building Project of Respiratory Diseases in primary care settings. The operation of the respiratory department in primary health care institutions was evaluated in terms of facilities, drugs, personnel and management of chronic diseases by means of questionnaires. Descriptive analyses were performed to calculate percentages and frequencies of key parameters. Results A total of 144 primary health care institutions were surveyed, including 51 in the east, 82 in the west, 9 in the central and 2 in the northeast. Approximately 60% of institutions had spirometers and pulse oximeters. The majority had short-acting bronchodilators, theophylline, systemic corticosteroids, antibiotics, and traditional Chinese medicine. More than half had at least one respiratory physician and operator for spirometry. Half of the institutions carried out screening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease within the jurisdiction. The institutions in the east were superior to those in the west regarding the equipment, common drugs, medical staff, and management of respiratory diseases. Conclusions The study reveals that the overall operation of the respiratory department in primary care settings needs to be further strengthened. It is crucial to provide adequate essential equipment, medical professionals, and medicines for proper diagnosis and treatment of chronic respiratory diseases, as well as improving the management of diseases.

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Contribution of community health workers to primary health care performance in Brazil

Cited by 12 publications

References 27 publications

Agentes Comunitárias de Saúde: o que dizem os estudos internacionais?

Agentes Comunitárias de Saúde: o que dizem os estudos internacionais?

Community Health Workers: what do international studies tell us?

Current status of prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases in primary care in China: a cross-sectional study

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