Agente Comunitário de Saúde no controle da tuberculose na Atenção Primária a Saúde

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of the Community Health Agent (CHA) in the control of tuberculosis (TB) in areas served by the Family Health Strategy (FHS), which established a comparative analysis with the CHAs enrolled in the traditional Basic Health Units (BHU) . METHODS: A cross-sectional study in a priority municipality for TB control in the state of São Paulo, with a minimum sample of 108 CHAs of FHSs and the BHUs. For the collection of data, we used an instrument developed for Primary Health Care (PHC), adapted for TB care. RESULTS: With regard to the actions of TB control, it was observed that there were no statistically significant differences between the performance of CHAs, the units of the FHS, and those enrolled in the BHUs. CONCLUSION: The study highlighted the fragility of CHAs to incorporate into their practice actions to control TB in the distinct modalities of PHC, despite the prominence given to the FHS.