AGENTES COMUNITÁRIOS DE SAÚDE NA ATENÇÃO AO IDOSO: SINGULARIDADES E DESAFIOS

Abstract

Introduction: The Community Health Agents (ACS) program was institutionalized in 1991 by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. In 2003, the skills profile of these professionals was organized. Goals: Verify the knowledge and perceptions of the Community Health Agents about the action in the health care of the elderly. Methods: Descriptive, exploratory study with a mixed approach carried out in the municipality of Picos, Piauí, Brazil, with the participation of 98 CHAs. The CHAs were identified as the target population of this study because they are strategic professionals in Primary Care and active in health promotion throughout the life cycle. For data collection, a questionnaire on the Google Forms platform was used with questions about the socioeconomic profile and the perception of Community Health Agents about the training process to work in the health of the elderly. Results: After analyzing the content of the responses given by the participants, two themes were highlighted: difficulties in carrying out the visits, namely problems with self-care, negligence and abandonment by the family and caregiver, loneliness, poor communication, emotional deprivation and precarious socioeconomic conditions; and necessary measures to improve the performance of the ACS in the health care of the elderly, such as training to care for the elderly, training of family members and caregivers, improvement of working conditions, facilitating access of the elderly to the service, creation of a program and space for the elderly, expansion of visits, among others. Conclusions: The CHA plays an important role in caring for the elderly, as they are aware of the real conditions of the context in which the elderly person is inserted and their needs in the personal, family, social and community domains, but who aim for training, qualification and recognition for the work they provide. format.