Work process of community health works in the context of digital health: a non-participant observation study

Abstract

The Community Health Workers (CHW) are going through a process of technological incorporation. This article aims to understand the interactions between the CHW work process and the use of digital health. This is a qualitative research, of the non-participant observation type based on 10 trips to the field with 30 hours of observation of the work of the CHW, with the data analyzed according to the theory of the health work process. The results point to advantages for the work of the CHW, such as expanding access to health and communication between the team and users, agility in data collection and qualification of care; Disadvantages also emerged in the scenario of using digital technologies, such as delays in replacing damaged instruments, loss of workers’ privacy and precarious working conditions. It is concluded that the elements of the CHW work process are reorganized to meet old and new territorial needs in a context of digital revolution and that face-to-face, relational work still remains irreplaceable in the face of social and health inequities.