Implications of work in the mental health of community health agents

Abstract

This article aimed to reflect upon the implications of the work of the community health agents in their mental health, through the theoretical reference of the psychodynamics of work. Thus, focus groups with CHAs of a Basic Health Unit (BHU) were formed in a central city of the State of the Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data analysis was done through discourse analysis. The results were divided into two categories: one on mental health and work, and the other on strategies used by workers to maintain mental health at work. We concluded that it is important to think about work and its consequences on mental health, since it sometimes produces health, sometimes suffering, while constituting the identity of the workers.