Work and health in rural and water territories: perspectives for decolonizing Family Health Strategy practices

Abstract

Introduction: the Family Health Strategy (FHS) plays a key role in implementing Worker’s Health (WH) in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). Objective: based on WH theoretical frameworks and in the Epistemologies of the South, this study analyzes how FHS professionals perceive the relationship between work and health in rural and water territories in northeastern Brazil. Methods: qualitative research with data collected by semi-structured interviews conducted with 29 FHS professionals from four municipalities of the semi-arid and coastal regions of northeastern Brazil. We identified three analytical categories: the relationship between work and health; approaches that support action in the FHS; and its specificities in rural and water populations (RWP). Results: the work and health relationship is perceived by all professional categories and the Occupational Health approach supports FHS practices. The dialogue between WH, the Sociology of Absences, the Ecology of Knowledge, and the Living Well illuminates the comprehension of the relationship specificities in RWP. Conclusion: WH should be strengthened, based on these references, to rethink FHS work to meet WH needs, and considering RWP singularities.