The territory and implications of urban violence for the work process of community health agents in a primary healthcare unit

Abstract

In the context of Primary Health Care, urban violence is characterized as a challenge that has direct impact on the health sector due to the geographical localization of health equipment in vulnerable areas and strong interaction of the workers with situations that endanger them, implicit or explicit to their safety. In this study we discuss the implications of this phenomenon for the work and the development of the bonds established between the Community Health Agents and the population within a territory. We used a qualitative methodology and theoretical approach of the social representations, aiming at increasing the understanding of how health policies are implemented on the daily routine in the light of interactions, conflicts and decisions that permeate the contacts with the public in the provision of the service. As a result, we emphasize that community violence and its representations interfere in the development of healthcare promotion and prevention strategies and in the development of bonds, making negotiation channels more restricted. It is fundamental to strengthen the work process of the health team through collective discussion and networking in the prevention and minimizing individual risks about their workers and with a possibility of accomplishing a straight work with the assumptions of integrality of care and reduction of inequalities.