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Community Health Workers perceptions in relation to speech and language disorders

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To know the perception of the Community Health Workers (CHW) about the speech and language disorders.

Method

Cross-sectional study, which involved a questionnaire with questions related to the knowledge of CHW on speech and language disorders. The research was carried out with CHW allocated in the Centro Sanitary District of Florianópolis.

Results

We interviewed 35 CHW, being mostly (80%) female gender, with a average age of 47 years (standard deviation = 2.09 years). From the total number of interviewed professionals, 57% said that they knew the work of the speech therapist, 57% believe that there is no relationship between chronic diseases and speech therapy and 97% who think the participation of Speech, Hearing and Language Sciences is important in primary care. As for capacity development, 88% of CHW claim not to have had any training performed by a speech therapist, 75% of professionals stated they had done the training Estratégia Amamenta e Alimenta Brasil, 57% of the Programa Capital Criança and 41% of the Programa Capital Idoso.

Conclusion

The knowledge of CHW about the work of a speech therapist is still limited, but the importance of speech and language disorders is recognized in primary care. The lack of knowledge, with regard to speech and language disorders, may be related to lack of qualification of the CHW in actions and/or continuing education courses that could clarify and educate these professionals to identify and better educate the population in their home visits. This study highlights the need for further research on training actions of these professionals.

Keywords:
Speech, Hearing and Language Sciences; Family Health Strategy; Community Health Workers; Chronic Disease; Public Health

RESUMO

Objetivo

Conhecer a percepção dos Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (ACS) quanto aos agravos fonoaudiológicos.

Método

Estudo do tipo transversal que envolveu a aplicação de questionário com questões referentes ao conhecimento dos ACS sobre agravos fonoaudiológicos. Realizado com os ACS alocados no Distrito Sanitário Centro de Florianópolis.

Resultados

Foram entrevistados 35 ACS, sendo sua maioria (80%) do gênero feminino, com média de idade de 47 anos (desvio padrão = 2,09 anos). Dos ACS entrevistados, 57% afirmaram conhecer o trabalho do fonoaudiólogo, 57% acreditam que não há relação entre as doenças crônicas e fonoaudiologia e 97% acham importante a participação da fonoaudiologia na atenção básica. Quanto à capacitação, 88% dos ACS alegaram não ter tido nenhum tipo de capacitação realizada por fonoaudiólogo; 75% dos profissionais declararam ter feito capacitação da Estratégia Amamenta e Alimenta Brasil; 57%, do Programa Capital Criança; e 41%, do Programa Capital Idoso.

Conclusão

O conhecimento dos ACS sobre o trabalho do fonoaudiólogo ainda é limitado, mas a importância do trabalho fonoaudiológico é reconhecida na atenção básica. O desconhecimento, no que diz respeito aos agravos fonoaudiológicos, pode estar relacionado à falta de capacitação dos ACS em ações e/ou cursos de educação continuada que poderiam esclarecer e instruir esses profissionais a identificar e melhor orientar a população em suas visitas domiciliares. Destaca-se a necessidade de mais pesquisas voltadas a ações de capacitação desses profissionais.

Descritores:
Fonoaudiologia; Estratégia de Saúde da Família; Agentes Comunitários de Saúde; Doenças Crônicas; Saúde Pública

INTRODUCTION

The Community Health Worker (CHW) is characterized as one of the most important connections between the health service and the community since this professional knows the living conditions and problems faced by the population in the assisted area. CHW gives support in solving the actual demands presented by users of the system and they are also essential for strengthening the Unified Health System (UHS)(11 Peres CRFB, Caldas AL Jr, Silva RF, Marin MJS. O Agente Comunitário de Saúde frente ao processo de trabalho em equipe: facilidades e dificuldades. Rev Esc Enferm USP. 2011;45(4):905-11. PMid:21876891. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0080-62342011000400016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0080-62342011...
).

In 1991, CHW work was incorporated to the Unified Health System (UHS) with the creation of Programa de Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (PACS) - the Community Health Workers Program (CHWP). According to the National Policy of Primary Care (NPPC)(22 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria nº 2.488, de 21 de outubro de 2011: aprova a Política Nacional de Atenção Básica, estabelecendo a revisão de diretrizes e normas para a organização da Atenção Básica, para a Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) e o Programa de Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (PACS). Diário Oficial da União; Brasília; 2011.), CHWP aimed at consolidating and qualifying the Estratégia Saúde da Família - Family Health Strategy (FHS) as a model of primary care and originator center of the health care networks for UHS.

The function of CHW in the community is essential because of the easy access to users in the area of activity, which enables them the early identification of at risk situations(33 Santos JN, Rodrigues ALV, Silva AFG, Matos EF, Jerônimo NS, Teixeira LC. Percepção de agentes comunitários de saúde sobre os riscos à saúde fonoaudiológica. Rev Soc Bras Fonoaudiol. 2012;17(3):333-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342012000300016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342012...
). CHW may represent an important tool for promoting health, preventing diseases and Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD), since they are already inserted in multidisciplinary teams. Then, health education should be encouraged through practice and training workshops, establishing meaningful actions in health(44 Cesaro BC, Gonçalves GL, Nunes GPC, Tozzi RC. Intervenções em linguagem infantil na atenção primária à saúde: revisão sistemática. CoDAS. 2013;25(6):588-94. PMid:24626985. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-17822014000100012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2317-17822014...

5 Arce VAR, Sousa MFD. Práticas de longitudinalidade no âmbito da Estratégia Saúde da Família no Distrito Federal. Cad. Saúde Coletiva. 2014;22(1):62-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1414-462X201400010010.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1414-462X20140...

6 Conceição HVD, Barreira-Nielsen C. Health hearing training: assessment tool in the Brazilian National Telemedicine Program. Revista CEFAC. 2014;16(5):1426-33.

7 Nascimento LG, Melo W, Silva MV. Oficinas de intervenção psicossocial com agentes comunitários de saúde: reflexões e intervenções dialogadas. Rev Bras Med Fam Comunidade. 2014;9(33):336-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.5712/rbmfc9(33)716.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5712/rbmfc9(33)716...
-88 Lopes NC, Vieira GASS, Pena SRB, Lemos SMA. Agentes comunitários de saúde: mapeamento de conhecimento antes e após oficinas de instrumentalização. Rev. CEFAC. 2015;17(3):683-94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216201517913.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-021620151...
).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)(99 Braz M, Barros AA Fo, Barros MBA. Saúde dos adolescentes: um estudo de base populacional em Campinas. Cad. Saúde Pública. Rio de. 2013;29(9):1877-88.), the main NCD are cardiovascular diseases (cerebrovascular and ischemic ones), neoplasias, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes mellitus. Other conditions that may contribute to the suffering of individuals are mental and neurological disorders, bone and joint diseases, oral diseases, genetic disorders and ocular and auditory disorders.

With the significant increase in NCD, the Ministry of Health (MH)(1010 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. A vigilância, o controle e a prevenção das Doenças Crônicas Não Transmissíveis – DCNT: no contexto do Sistema Único de Saúde brasileiro. Brasília: Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde; 2005.) has implemented surveillance activities that allow to know the distribution, magnitude and trend of these diseases. In Florianópolis, the surveillance actions in health are carried out to ensure the promotion, protection, recovery and rehabilitation of health and prevention to risks and problems regarding health at all levels of complexity(1111 Florianópolis. Prefeitura Municipal. Lei Complementar nº 239, de 2006: institui o Código de Vigilância em Saúde, dispõe sobre normas relativas à Saúde no município de Florianópolis, estabelece penalidades e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial do Estado; Florianópolis; 11 out. 2006 [citado em 2015 Maio 4]. Disponível em: http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arquivos/pdf/05_01_2010_10.22.32.020234fe5bea2096655e5f52a90c3130.pdf
http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arq...
). Thus, some programs in primary care were implemented, such as: Capital Idoso, Floripa Ativa and Capital Criança, the latter incorporated into Estratégia Amamenta and Alimenta Brasil.

Given that speech and language disorders resulting from NCD represent an impact on the quality of life of the population, the knowledge about these disorders is essential in the planning of health actions. Among the main speech and language disorders, it is possible to include: hearing impairment, language disorders (aphasia, dysarthria, apraxia) and swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). Therefore, this study aims to know the perception of CHW about to speech and language disorders.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study with Community Health Workers (CHW) who worked at Health Centers (HC) belonging to the Centro Sanitary District in Florianópolis, and it was carried out from January to April 2015.

The city of Florianópolis has a population of 421,203 inhabitants and it is divided into five health districts, namely: Centro, Continente, Norte, Leste and Sul(1212 IBGE: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Censo 2010. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2010.). With regard to the Centro Sanitary District, it is consisted of five HC: Agronômica, Centro, Trindade, Prainha and Monte Serrat.

This study was part of a research project entitled Fonoaudiologia e SUS: Contribuições Fonoaudiológicas na Vigilância de Agravos Não Transmissíveis – Speech, Hearing and Language Sciences and UHS: Speech, Hearing and Language Contributions in Surveillance of Noncommunicable Diseases, approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Universidade Estadual do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), according to Opinion 1,018,426.

A questionnaire involving issues related to speech and language disorders was designed with the aim of observing if the guidelines which were performed by CHW involved such issues. The questionnaire was divided into topics regarding the promotion of maternal and infant health (guidance directed to exclusive breastfeeding and its importance for suction and nasal breathing, training in primary care programs and referrals); promotion of child health (frequency of visits, speech development, learning disability, attention and concentration, knowledge of the Neonatal Hearing Screening and Frenulum of Tongue Evaluation and training in primary care programs); and promotion of the elderly health (frequency of visits, hearing difficulties, swallowing, voice, speech, exams and use of hearing aids and training in primary care programs).

Initially, the HC coordinators were contacted and informed about the research aims. Thus, information was obtained on the division of territory, number of CHW and, afterwards, dates for interviews with all CHW of each HC were determined. The coordinators of HC performed prior appointment with CHW, usually at the beginning of business hours and, at this moment, the researcher introduced herself to the HC in order to conduct the interviews. The questionnaire was conducted in more than one meeting, according to the schedule set by each HC. CHW were invited to participate and to sign the Informed Consent Form. They were also asked to answer the questionnaire individually, and the researcher accompanied the filling process and clarified the doubts.

Data were collected and stored in Microsoft Excel® software. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed to characterize the HS according to territory, micro areas, health markers, CHW, enrolled population and to describe the percentages referring to the instructions given by the CHW regarding the speech-language aspects. Spearman's Association Test was carried out for nonparametric samples, in order to verify possible associations between perceptions of CHW and sociodemographic features, with 5% significance level. The analyzes were performed with the assistance of STATA 10.0.

RESULTS

At the Centro Sanitário District, there are 50 Community Health Workers (CHW). 35 of them (70%) participated of the research. This loss of 30% can be justified by the fact that some of CHW were on vacation, were removed from office due to illness or for training and refusal to participate.

Agronômica HC is the one which concentrates most of CHW (30%). Together, HC comprise a population of 90,601 inhabitants, and the majority of the population is on the Centro HC (Table 1).

Table 1
Characterization of the Health Centers of Centro Sanitary District(1111 Florianópolis. Prefeitura Municipal. Lei Complementar nº 239, de 2006: institui o Código de Vigilância em Saúde, dispõe sobre normas relativas à Saúde no município de Florianópolis, estabelece penalidades e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial do Estado; Florianópolis; 11 out. 2006 [citado em 2015 Maio 4]. Disponível em: http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arquivos/pdf/05_01_2010_10.22.32.020234fe5bea2096655e5f52a90c3130.pdf
http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arq...
)

Regarding health markers, we observed a higher prevalence of Systemic Arterial Hypertension and Diabetes (95%), followed by 43% related to vulnerable population: children and pregnant women. It is noteworthy that only 23% of CHW reported elderly people as a health marker.

Most CHW were female (80%) with a mean age of 47 years (standard deviation = 2.09 years). It was observed that 60% have Secondary Education; 31.5% have Higher Education; and 8.5% had concluded Elementary School. The average operating time of the health team was 12 years. Only 30% reported being approved in a public contest (Table 2).

Table 2
CHW Socio-demographic caracterization(1111 Florianópolis. Prefeitura Municipal. Lei Complementar nº 239, de 2006: institui o Código de Vigilância em Saúde, dispõe sobre normas relativas à Saúde no município de Florianópolis, estabelece penalidades e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial do Estado; Florianópolis; 11 out. 2006 [citado em 2015 Maio 4]. Disponível em: http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arquivos/pdf/05_01_2010_10.22.32.020234fe5bea2096655e5f52a90c3130.pdf
http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arq...
)

In relation to the frequency of meetings of the health teams, 97% of CHW answered that they occurred at least once a week. From the total number of interviewed agents, 57% know the work of a speech therapist, but 96.8% have never had any training done by this professional. Regarding the relationship between chronic diseases and speech and language disorders, more than half (57%) believes that there is no relationship. And in relation to the participation of the speech therapist in primary care, 97% of CHW reported that it is very important.

With regard to Maternal and Infant Health Promotion, most of the professionals perform questioned guidelines, and the vast majority (97%) claimed to focus on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and 90% on the losses of artificial breastfeeding (Table 3).

Table 3
Guidelines performed by the CHW regarding the Maternal-Infant Health Promotion(1111 Florianópolis. Prefeitura Municipal. Lei Complementar nº 239, de 2006: institui o Código de Vigilância em Saúde, dispõe sobre normas relativas à Saúde no município de Florianópolis, estabelece penalidades e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial do Estado; Florianópolis; 11 out. 2006 [citado em 2015 Maio 4]. Disponível em: http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arquivos/pdf/05_01_2010_10.22.32.020234fe5bea2096655e5f52a90c3130.pdf
http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arq...
)

Most professionals (94%) perform referrals when they find difficulties in maternal and infant feeding, being these referrals made directly to the Health Center (65%), for healthcare professionals (30%) and for groups (5%).

Regarding the Child Health Promotion, 97% of agents reported that there is periodicity in visits in households with children, and, according to 72% of them, such visits used to occur monthly. During these visits, most of the questioned guidelines used to be performed, with the exception of questioning made about the Frenulum of Tongue Evaluation (21% - Table 4).

Table 4
Guidelines performed by the CHW regarding the Child Health Promotion(1111 Florianópolis. Prefeitura Municipal. Lei Complementar nº 239, de 2006: institui o Código de Vigilância em Saúde, dispõe sobre normas relativas à Saúde no município de Florianópolis, estabelece penalidades e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial do Estado; Florianópolis; 11 out. 2006 [citado em 2015 Maio 4]. Disponível em: http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arquivos/pdf/05_01_2010_10.22.32.020234fe5bea2096655e5f52a90c3130.pdf
http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arq...
)

With regard to the Elderly Health Promotion, 88% of the professional mentioned that there is periodicity in visits to households with elderly people, and, according to 67% of them, these visits used to occur monthly. Only 41% of CHW claimed to have participated in some training of the Programa Capital Idoso.

About the questions asked during visits in households with elderly people, we observed small percentages concerning the guidelines in relation to speech difficulties (49%); difficulties in understanding television (45%); the elderly people were asked about previous audiometric examination (37%); vocal change/weakness (35%); presence of choking (30% - Graphic 1).

Graphic 1
Guidelines performed by the CHW regarding the Elderly Health Promotion(1111 Florianópolis. Prefeitura Municipal. Lei Complementar nº 239, de 2006: institui o Código de Vigilância em Saúde, dispõe sobre normas relativas à Saúde no município de Florianópolis, estabelece penalidades e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial do Estado; Florianópolis; 11 out. 2006 [citado em 2015 Maio 4]. Disponível em: http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arquivos/pdf/05_01_2010_10.22.32.020234fe5bea2096655e5f52a90c3130.pdf
http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arq...
). (n=35)

They were also questioned about the participation of CHW in actions and/or training courses in existing programs in Florianópolis. It was verified that training for Estratégia Amamenta and Alimenta Brasil is the one that has been most prevalent (75%), although not all professionals are reached (Table 5).

Table 5
CHW distribution according to training courses(1111 Florianópolis. Prefeitura Municipal. Lei Complementar nº 239, de 2006: institui o Código de Vigilância em Saúde, dispõe sobre normas relativas à Saúde no município de Florianópolis, estabelece penalidades e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial do Estado; Florianópolis; 11 out. 2006 [citado em 2015 Maio 4]. Disponível em: http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arquivos/pdf/05_01_2010_10.22.32.020234fe5bea2096655e5f52a90c3130.pdf
http://portal.pmf.sc.gov.br/arquivos/arq...
)

No associations were observed between the perception of CHW regarding speech and language disorders and gender (p=0.188); age (p=0.707); education (p=0.320); and operating time (p=0.708).

DISCUSSION

Regarding health markers, the highest prevalence (95%) refers to health markers Systemic Arterial Hypertension (SAH) and Diabetes. Apart from hearing issues, it is known that SAH is one of the risk factors for Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA), which can be responsible for the effect of aphasia, a language deficit that generates social and emotional impacts on the individual. Inside the Rede de Atenção às Urgências e Emergências of UHS, established by Ordinance MS/GM No. 2,395, 2011(1313 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria GM/MS nº 2.395, de 11 de outubro de 2011: organiza o Componente Hospitalar da Rede de Atenção às Urgências e Emergências no âmbito do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Diário Oficial da União; Brasília; 2011.), is the Care Line in Stroke, established by Ordinance No. 665, of April 12, 2012(1414 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria nº 665 de 12 de abril de 2012: dispõe sobre os critérios de habilitação dos estabelecimentos hospitalares como Centro de Atendimento de Urgência aos pacientes com Acidente Vascular Cerebral (AVC), no âmbito do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), institui o respectivo incentivo financeiro e aprova a Linha de Cuidados em AVC. Diário Oficial da União; Brasília; 2011.), which provides on the hospitals eligibility criteria as urgent care centers for patients with CVA in UHS context. For the strenghtening of this type of care, some strategies have been introduced, such as the development of actions for the recognition of CVA by the population, training of health professionals for post-hospital care, and ensuring the access to a great rehabilitation(1515 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Manual instrutivo da Rede de Atenção às Urgências e Emergências no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2013.). Speech Therapy should be part of this process, not only during the rehabilitation, but also in structuring health education activities for this population.

In addition to these markers, the prevalence of 43%, related to the vulnerable population: children and pregnant women, and 23%, elderly people, reinforces the importance of training of the FHS regarding the speech and language disorders, in order to carry out the health surveillance actions.

In the present study, there was a predominance of female individuals among CHW and this finding is consistent with results obtained with other research that are composed mostly by female CHW(33 Santos JN, Rodrigues ALV, Silva AFG, Matos EF, Jerônimo NS, Teixeira LC. Percepção de agentes comunitários de saúde sobre os riscos à saúde fonoaudiológica. Rev Soc Bras Fonoaudiol. 2012;17(3):333-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342012000300016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342012...
,1616 Bezerra AFB, Santo ACGE, Batista MB Fo. Concepções e práticas do agente comunitário na atenção à saúde do idoso. Rev Saude Publica. 2005;39(5):809-15. PMid:16254659. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102005000500017.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102005...
,1717 Mota RRA, David HMSL. A crescente escolarização do agente comunitário de saúde: uma indução do processo de trabalho? Trab Educ Saúde. 2010;8(2):229-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1981-77462010000200004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1981-77462010...
). The predisposition of women may also be associated with the prevalence, which is already known historically, since they play a role in society that is focused on the family care.

In Brazil, the minimum education to act as a CHW is Primary Education, regulated by(1818 Brasil. Lei nº 11.350, de 5 de outubro de 2006: regulamenta o par. 5º do art. 198 da Constituição, dispõe sobre o aproveitamento de pessoal amparado pelo parágrafo único do art. 2º da Emenda Constitucional no 51, de 14 de fevereiro de 2006, e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União; Brasília; 2006 [citado em 2014 Nov 3]. Disponível em: Disponível em: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2004-2006/2006/lei/l11350.htm
http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_at...
). In the study, it was found that 60% of CHW concluded High School and 31.5%, Higher Education. This information is significant and demonstrates that the CHW is, in a way, concerned about their training. It is possible to suggest that the higher level of education of the CHW may benefit their performance, since they may be able to incorporate new knowledge and, thus, they could better orientate their territory. Furthermore, the fact that the educational level of CHW is above the minimum requirement was necessary because the required tasks have become more complex and wide(1919 Esteves S, Tavares S, Rezende I, Cavalcante A, Araújo A, Amaral R, et al. Perfil sócio-demográfico do agente comunitário de saúde no município de Goiânia-GO. In: Ias Jornadas de Farmácia. Farmácia de Hoje, Farmácos de Amanhã; 2012 Mar 16-17; Bragança. Bragança: Instituto Politécnico de Bragança; 2012. p. 229-37.) and thus the performance requires an adequate level of professional competence.

According to the National Primary Care Policy (Ordinance 2,488/2011)(22 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria nº 2.488, de 21 de outubro de 2011: aprova a Política Nacional de Atenção Básica, estabelecendo a revisão de diretrizes e normas para a organização da Atenção Básica, para a Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) e o Programa de Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (PACS). Diário Oficial da União; Brasília; 2011.), among many atributions, including the ones in charge of the CHW, it is the home visit, which should be performed routinely to all families under their responsabilities. The visits of the CHW has the role to monitor and offer some guidance to families on health care, the research raised some questions about this practice that involves attention to children, women and the elderly people, incorporating aspects related to health speech therapy.

Regarding the Mother and Infatnt Health Promotion, according to what points the literature of the area, participation of CHW in counseling on breastfeeding is very effective, being able to promote and encourage an increase in the duration of an exclusive breastfeeding(2020 Caldeira AP, Fagundes GC, Aguiar GN. Intervenção educacional em equipes do Programa de Saúde da Família para promoção da amamentação. Rev Saude Publica. 2008;42(6):1027-33. PMid:19031507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102008000600008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102008...
). In this study, it can be observed that the vast majority of the CHW performed guidelines focused on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and on the damage of artificial breastfeeding.

It is considered that CHW are able to better identify their community needs by witnessing and knowing the real conditions of life and addressing the health problems of their local population(2121 Santos KT, Saliba NA, Moimaz SAS, Arcieri RM, Carvalho ML. Agente comunitário de saúde: perfil adequado a realidade do Programa Saúde da Família? Cien Saude Colet. 2011;16(1, Suppl 1):1023-8. PMid:21503451. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232011000700035.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232011...
). In this sense, and in accordance with the Incentive Policy for the Promotion of Breastfeeding, it is expected that there is the training of the FHS team, in which the CHW is inserted.

Because of its proximity to the community, the CHW, during their visits to pregnant and lactating women, elucidate questions related to the encouragement of maternal and infant health. In a survey of knowledge and promotion practices of breastfeeding in Family Health Teams, it was verified that breastfeeding promotion activities are more performed by CHW when compared with other professionals, since such professionals carry out early visits and because they are present since the initial prenatal stage(2020 Caldeira AP, Fagundes GC, Aguiar GN. Intervenção educacional em equipes do Programa de Saúde da Família para promoção da amamentação. Rev Saude Publica. 2008;42(6):1027-33. PMid:19031507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102008000600008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102008...
). In this study, we identified a significant involvement of CHW with regard to the guidelines on: womb care during pregnancy; the importance of suction to the development of oral functions, language and hearing as well as for nasal breathing.

In relation to the Child Health Promotion, the agents are responsible for, in their home visits, to monitor the health of the child and, for this, they use Health Record of the Child as a basic instrument(2222 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Caderneta de Saúde da criança (6. ed. Revisada e nas versões menino e menina). Brasília; 2009 [citado em 2015 Abr. 14]. Disponível em: http://portal.saude.gov.br/portal/saude/visualizar_texto.cfm?idtxt:29889&janela=1
http://portal.saude.gov.br/portal/saude/...
). With it, it is possible to follow the growth and development as well as the health of children up to 10 years. The monitoring is usually performed through consultations in the Basic Health Unit (BHU) and by THE home visits that are carried out by CHW, being them responsible for collecting data and relevant information, as well as advising mothers on prevention and control of diseases and, when necessary, to make referrals to BHU(2323 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Atenção Básica. Guia prático do agente comunitário de saúde. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2009.).

Examining the Community Agent Practical Guide of Health(2323 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Atenção Básica. Guia prático do agente comunitário de saúde. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2009.), it is observed that the guidelines on child development are more general and the only reference found in the guide is the guidance so that if the professional mistrust of the difficulty in the speech of the child. Then, this child should be referred for an evaluation at the BHU. Although the CHW is able to identify and refer children with language disorders, there are few specific information regarding aspects related to the development of speech and academic performance (learning disabilities, attention and concentration).

Nevertheless, the CHW reported to make questions on their visits in relation to: the development of speech; learning difficulties and difficulties in attention and concentration. These results suggest that the CHW does not only support what it is proposed by the manuals. However, due to the type of the study, since it is based on self-reported knowledge, it would be possible to evaluate this knowledge with only more specific information concerning these aspects.

Regarding the knowledge of the tests that verify possible speech and language disorders, questions about the performance of the Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS) were verified and a small portion was related to the Frenulum of Tongue Evaluation. This occurrence might be explained by the fact that NHS makes part of the National Neonatal Screening Program since 2001, along with the Guthrie test and the Red Reflex Test and, thus, be more known. The low percentage of agents who carried out questioning or guidance on the Frenulum of Tongue Evaluation is due to lack of knowledge of its existence because it was recently introduced by Law 13,002 of June 20, 2014(2424 Brasil. Presidência da República. Lei nº.13.002/14 de 20 de junho de 2014: obriga a realização do Protocolo de Avaliação do frênulo lingual em bebês. Diário Oficial da União; Brasília; 2014 [citado em 2015 Maio 14]. Disponível em: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_Ato2011-2014/2014/Lei/L13002.htm
http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_At...
). Therefore, we pointed out to the need for greater dissemination of this evaluation for health professionals, since the CHW can become an ally of the speech therapist to assist in the diagnosis and prevention of possible speech and feeding problems.

With regard to the Elderly Health Promotion, the Ministry of Health (2006) established the use of the Elderly Health Record(2525 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Caderneta de Saúde da pessoa idosa. Brasília; 2006.). It represents an instrument that is not only responsible for conducting the medical appointments held by the elderly individual at the HBU, but mostly as a guide for the CHW during their home visits. The Practical Guide for the Community Health Worker(2323 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Atenção Básica. Guia prático do agente comunitário de saúde. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2009.), are described different important issues that the CHW should raise in their visits to households with elderly people. It is observed that, together with general guidelines aimed at promoting healthy habits, some issues involving speech therapy aspects are inserted.

About the questions asked during visits to households with the elderly individuals, most of the CHW claimed to ask about hearing difficulties, a fairly significant number, since the CHW have little information described in this regard in the Practical Guide of the Community Health Worker(2323 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Atenção Básica. Guia prático do agente comunitário de saúde. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2009.). However, it is observed that there is a section of the guide that gives information about hearing disability, warning about signs that may indicate a hearing loss, including the use of the high volume of television, request for repeating words and the question that is heard but not understood. In this study, we found that the guidelines concerning the difficulties in understanding television have been little addressed by professionals. Now, in relation to the guidelines aimed to difficulties in understanding people, little more than most of CHW demonstrated a concern to clarify on this.

In contrast, when asked about the guidelines for carrying out the audiometry, just a few professionals mentioned to do this kind of guidance, although questioning about the use of hearing aids. It was observed a discrepancy in relation to these guidelines, however, despite this disparity, the study highlights the importance of early diagnosis and rehabilitation in order to ensure quality of life for the elderly individuals. Generally, after the adaptation of the hearing aid, the elderly individual tends to significantly increase his quality of life(2626 Teixeira AR, Almeida LG, Jotz GP, De Barba MC. Qualidade de vida de adultos e idosos pós adaptação de próteses auditivas. Rev Soc Bras Fonoaudiol. 2008;13(4):357-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342008000400010.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342008...
). In addition, referrals to perform hearing tests should be part of routine of the professionals who work with elderly people.

According to what it is informed in the Practical Guide of the Community Health Worker(2323 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Atenção Básica. Guia prático do agente comunitário de saúde. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2009.) it is possible to verify that the difficulties regarding swallowing and gagging are part of the care section with the food, which are incorporated in the promotion of healthy habits. It can be seen in the manual that the CHW is oriented to clarify the elderly family on the occurrence of coughing and choking during meals, for the difficulties that they may have to chew and swallow food and the risks for aspiration. When it is verified that the elderly individual have difficulty in swallowing, it is advised the CHW to inform his healthcare team(2727 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Diretrizes do NASF: Núcleo de Apoio a Saúde da Família. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2009.). Nevertheless, it was found low percentage of orientation reports in relation to these aspects.

Among the activities carried out by the CHW during home visits, it is possible to highlight the involvement of education in health for the prevention of health complications, especially with families with elderly individuals and people with chronic health conditions. It is necessary that, if a health problem is found during home visits, the CHW should refer the elderly to the BHU, in order he goes through medical or nursing evaluation(2828 Levy FM, Matos PES, Tomita NE. Programa de agentes comunitários de saúde: a percepção de usuários e trabalhadores da saúde. Cad Saude Publica. 2004;20(1):197-203. PMid:15029321. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2004000100036.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2004...
).

In a study that investigated the perception of the CHW on the risks to speech therapy health, it was found from hypothetical situations listed by a questionnaire that the CHW can understand some issues that may bring possible complications to the elderly individual, among them, dysphagia(33 Santos JN, Rodrigues ALV, Silva AFG, Matos EF, Jerônimo NS, Teixeira LC. Percepção de agentes comunitários de saúde sobre os riscos à saúde fonoaudiológica. Rev Soc Bras Fonoaudiol. 2012;17(3):333-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342012000300016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342012...
). Nevertheless, about 60% of the participants reported that after the perception of the risk they refer cases for discussion with the professionals of the family health team.

The guidance on vocal changes and/or weakness were little reported by the CHW, suggesting a limited professional awareness about the possible risks to speech health. In addition, many professionals can recognize changes in vocal quality, such as hoarseness and sudden frequency fluctuations, but they do not understand that these changes should be reported to the health team(33 Santos JN, Rodrigues ALV, Silva AFG, Matos EF, Jerônimo NS, Teixeira LC. Percepção de agentes comunitários de saúde sobre os riscos à saúde fonoaudiológica. Rev Soc Bras Fonoaudiol. 2012;17(3):333-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342012000300016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342012...
).

About the questioning made regarding language, there were few reports of guidelines regarding difficulties in the speech of the elderly people. Opposed to a study(2929 Brites LS, Souza APR, Lessa AH. Fonoaudiólogo e agente comunitário de saúde: uma experiência educativa. Rev Soc Bras Fonoaudiol. 2008;13(3):258-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342008000300010.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-80342008...
) that carried out an educational intervention with the CHW on speech therapy, it was verified that he had knowledge about the speech disorders and in his visits to the community he was able to identify them.

The study represents a breakthrough for the comprehensiveness of health surveillance and it represents the initiative in the search of development for more research focused on the perception of the CHW regarding speech-language aspects. Nevertheless, the study presents some limitations related to losses and the reduced size of the study population.

CONCLUSION

The CWH demonstrated to recognize the importance of the speech therapist being part of the health teams and they also demonstrated to meet some aspects related to the work of this professional, although this knowledge is limited. We observed that there is a lack of knowledge in relation to the speech and language disorders, it may be suggested that this is due to lack of training.

The findings of this study suggest that the CHW presented knowledge based on established guidelines in their training as CHW and that they also use their life experiences and their own language as the basis for their work in the community. That is necessary in order to the information passed on to the community might be clear.

However, it is considered important to carry out further research directed to the CHW, as well as training actions for these professionals, as the knowledge of the CHW regarding speech and language disorders are an important tool to support prevention, promotion and surveillance in health.

  • Study carried out at Curso de Fonoaudiologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina – UFSC - Florianópolis (SC), Brazil, which was part of a research project named Fonoaudiologia e SUS: Contribuições Fonoaudiológicas na Vigilância de Agravos Não Transmissíveis – Speech, Hearing and Language Sciences and UHS: Speech, Hearing and Language Contributions in Surveillance of Noncommunicable Diseases.
  • Financial support: nothing to declare.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    01 Dec 2016
  • Date of issue
    Nov-Dec 2016

History

  • Received
    20 July 2015
  • Accepted
    10 Dec 2015
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