Abstract
The community health worker (CHW), in his hybrid role as healthcare worker and residing member of his community, experiences different affects and potencies. His frontiers with neighbors become blurred and several expectations are placed on him, at the same time that he can help them with his work. This work aims to reflect upon the role of affectivity and subjective meanings attributed to it by the CHW in his daily work. Qualitative study, based on González-Rey's Qualitative Epistemology. Results point to affectivity as a way towards the building of bonds which increase the potency of those involved. During the CHW's encounters with patients and co-workers, good affections congregate, making potent relationships possible. In these, the healthcare service gets closer to the people who need it and they, in turn, become participants in the process of care. The friendship crafted in this relationship and also among the workers themselves strengthens their freedom, moved by legitimate interest between people who live and work close to each other.
Key words:
community health worker; Family Health; affectivity; bond; encounter.