INCLUSION OF THE ORAL HEALTH TECHNICIAN IN THE UNIFIED HEALTH SYSTEM: THE INSTABILITY OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS AND THE PROFESSIONAL DEVALUATION

Abstract The Oral Health National Policy emphasizes the importance of the training of assistant personnel for its consolidation. This study evaluated the inclusion of Oral Health Technicians, trained by Escola de Saúde Pública do Ceará, Brazil, in the Unified Health System. This is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach, developed in two stages. In the first one, the professional profile of 573 oral health technicians was outlined. In the second stage, we used focal groups, as well as the technique of content analysis, thematic modality. The orienting question was: which aspects influence the inclusion of the oral health technician in the Unified Health System? It was found that 73.3% of technicians were in the National Health Facilities Register. Out of these, 20.7% were registered as oral health technician, and 67.9% as oral health assistant. In the focal groups, three thematic categories were identified: manager's interests; type of employment relationship; and professional appreciation. It was concluded that the majority was included in the Unified Health System, but as oral health assistant. From the graduates" point of view, managers lack interest in hiring oral health technicians, and there is lack of more stable employment relationships and of greater professional appreciation.摘要 国家口腔卫生政策强调，辅助人员培训对于巩固该政策至关重要。本研究评估了由巴西塞阿拉公共卫生学院（Escola de Saúde Pública do Ceará）培养的口腔卫生技术员（Oral Health Technicians）纳入统一卫生系统（Unified Health System）的情况。本研究为采用质性研究方法的描述性研究，分为两个阶段实施：第一阶段梳理了573名口腔卫生技术员的职业概况；第二阶段采用焦点小组法，并结合主题式内容分析法开展研究。本研究的导向性问题为：哪些因素会影响口腔卫生技术员纳入统一卫生系统？研究显示，73.3%的技术员已完成国家卫生设施登记，其中20.7%以口腔卫生技术员身份登记，67.9%以口腔卫生助理（Oral Health Assistant）身份登记。焦点小组分析共识别出3个主题类别：管理者的聘用意愿、雇佣关系类型与职业认可度。研究结论表明，多数技术员已纳入统一卫生系统，但均以口腔卫生助理的身份履职。从毕业生视角来看，管理者缺乏聘用口腔卫生技术员的意愿，同时存在雇佣关系不稳定、职业认可度不足的问题。