This article reviews 30 years of Community Health Agents (CHAs) in Brazil’s Family Health Strategy, showing how they helped strengthen primary health care within the public health system (SUS). Over time, CHAs became a regulated profession, but their work faces challenges, including balancing administrative tasks with community care, reduced team presence, exposure to violence, … [Read more...] about Community Health Agents in the Family Health Strategy: 30 years of resistance and achievements
South America
Pathways of change for essential newborn care practices and health care seeking: a process evaluation of Mamás del Río, a community-based, maternal and neonatal health intervention in the Peruvian Amazon
In rural Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon, many women give birth at home and newborn deaths remain high. This study looked at how a community program using community health workers and traditional birth attendants led to better newborn care. The program reached most families and provided strong training and support. Traditional birth attendants played the biggest … [Read more...] about Pathways of change for essential newborn care practices and health care seeking: a process evaluation of Mamás del Río, a community-based, maternal and neonatal health intervention in the Peruvian Amazon
Improving Mental Health Knowledge Among Brazilian Community Health Agents in a Training Program for a Self-Reported Mental Health Assessment
This study tested a mental health training program for 24 Community Health Agents (CHAs) in Brazil using the interRAI SAMH tool. After the training, CHAs showed improved knowledge of mental health topics, including depression, anxiety, psychoses, and suicide risk. They also felt more confident identifying and referring people with mental health issues. The results show that the … [Read more...] about Improving Mental Health Knowledge Among Brazilian Community Health Agents in a Training Program for a Self-Reported Mental Health Assessment
Community health workers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in the detection of respiratory symptomatic patients
This study looked at whether community health workers’ knowledge about tuberculosis (TB) affected how they detect patients with respiratory symptoms in primary care in Brazil. Among 129 workers, mostly women aged 40–49, the study found no link between their TB knowledge and their attitudes or practices. This suggests that factors other than knowledge influence how workers carry … [Read more...] about Community health workers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in the detection of respiratory symptomatic patients
Challenges in the usability of the e-SUS Território application in Brazil’s Digital Health Strategy
This study assessed how easy the e-SUS Território health app is for community health workers (CHWs) in Brazil to use. The findings showed that while CHWs found the app useful, many faced challenges like data errors, duplicate records, and lost information due to system failures. Overall, the app’s usability was rated below average, suggesting that better training and technical … [Read more...] about Challenges in the usability of the e-SUS Território application in Brazil’s Digital Health Strategy