Ways of life and work organization of community health workers of river units in the Amazon, Brazil

Abstract

The article analyzes ways of life and organization of work of community health workers working in rural communities served by Basic Fluvial Health Unit, in the city of Manau, Brazil. Daily activities and challenges of these professionals were investigated, interaction with the families served, links with the communities and with the natural environment. Exploratory qualitative research conducted in 17 rural riverside communities distributed on the left bank of Rio Negro, along 190 kilometers. Data collection in 2021 and 2022 covered semi-structured interviews, staggered issues of attachment to the place and participant observation of the performance of community health workers. The results showed that the qualification of these workers meets the main demands of daily work in rural areas. The time of experience was relevant in the position, indicating robust knowledge of nature and attachment to the place/community, established by kinship links, identification and knowledge of the natural environment. They rebuild intersectoral practices, prioritizing interventions associated with social, micropolitical and cultural determinants of the health-disease process and participation in communal life in households accessed exclusively by river displacement and spread across a vast territory. The intramural administrative work was interpreted as deviation of function and removal of daily interactions in households, generating dissatisfaction and demotivation of these workers.

Keywords:
rural population health; primary health care; basic river health unit; community health worker