Community Health Agents in COVID-19: affections and affections in care

Abstract

The objective was to produce an analysis of the meanings, affections, affections and feelings of Community Health Agents in the face of the new coronavirus pandemic, identifying the coping strategies and the care technologies used in their territories. This is a study with a methodological approach to cartography for data production and analysis. Research carried out in Tauá, in the state of Ceará, with 10 community health agents working in the pandemic. Data were collected by digital media, organized in the form of narratives. The research followed the recommended ethical aspects for research with human beings. Two narrative cores emerged in the study: Reinventing new technologies and intersections between old and new modes of care. The pandemic had significant impacts on the agents' work process, producing encounters between old and new modes of care. Digital media stood out as a power in this context. The pandemic brought significant impacts and not yet fully dimensioned in the work process of community agents, both in organizational aspects and in the social relations established in the territories. The use of whatsapp emerged as a power in the work process, with strong indication of incorporation in its practice also for the post-pandemic, despite the limitations of users regarding the use and availability of this resource, as well as the non-investment by the public sector for use of social media in the work process.

Keywords: Community Health Agent; Primary Health Care; Coronavirus Infections; Cartography; Caution.