Vulnerability and suffering in the work of a community health agent in the Family Health Program

Abstract

This qualitative research was aimed at investigating the representations and significations that a group of community health agents (CHAs) has concerning the vulnerabilities for suffering in their work to which they are exposed to, as well as the manifestations of this suffering as they perform their actions in the Family Health Program (PSF, in the Portuguese language acronym). The semi-structured interview with the group of agents explored the meaning of being a CHA and their perception of their work organization; the analysis was based on the hermeneutics theoretical-methodology referential and on the theories related to labor psychodynamics. The findings show the existence of considerable suffering vulnerability, generated by an idealized ideation of the practice and by the scarce perspective for rearranging the constitutive ingredients of work organization, since these professionals depend on factors that are beyond their grasp, which include the limitations of the assistential model proposed by the PSF.