Community Health Agents: sociodemographic profile, employment and satisfaction with work in a city of Bahia’s semiarid

Abstract Introduction The Community Health Agent (CHA) is a link between health service and community, being an indispensable professional to implement Primary Health Care actions. Employment conditions and dissatisfaction with the job can affect the worker’s health. The aim of this study was to identify the sociodemographic profile, employment characteristics and job satisfaction in CHA work of Juazeiro, Bahia. Method An epidemiological survey was performed to collect data of 145 CHA, using a structured questionnaire, applied by interviewer. Results Most participants were women (81.38%), up to 40 years old (51.72%), brown skin color (60.69%), married/common-law marriage (66.21%), city staff (95.77%), and working six to twelve years in the same unit (55.86%). Just over half proved showed interest in reapplying for the job (52.,08%) and most reported as satisfied/very satisfied with the work capacity (77.93%). As for work capacity, 28.28% declared themselves dissatisfied/very dissatisfied, 60.00% indifferent and 11.72% satisfied/very satisfied. Conclusion The consolidation of organizational policies and management of CHA work processes and appreciation of these professionals is fundamental to modify the existing dissatisfaction frame, contributing to the strengthening of Primary Health Care.

摘要：社区健康专员（Community Health Agent, CHA）是连接卫生服务与社区的纽带，是落实初级卫生保健（Primary Health Care）相关工作不可或缺的专业人员。就业状况与工作不满情绪会对从业者的健康造成负面影响。本研究旨在识别巴伊亚州茹阿泽鲁市社区健康专员的社会人口学特征、就业相关特点及其工作满意度情况。方法：本研究采用流行病学调查方法，通过访谈式结构化问卷收集了145名社区健康专员的相关数据。结果：多数受访者为女性（81.38%）、年龄不超过40岁（51.72%）、棕肤色（60.69%）、已婚/事实婚姻（66.21%）、为市政雇员（95.77%），且在同一单位供职6至12年（55.86%）。超过半数受访者表示有意再次应聘该岗位（52.08%，原文存在排版笔误原为52.,08%），多数受访者表示对自身工作能力感到满意/非常满意（77.93%）。而就工作能力而言，28.28%的受访者表示不满/非常不满，60.00%持中立态度，11.72%表示满意/非常满意。结论：完善组织政策、优化社区健康专员工作流程管理并重视该群体，是改善现有不满情绪现状的关键举措，有助于强化初级卫生保健体系建设。