ABSTRACT
The National Policy of Primary Healthcare (PNAB) 2017 proposes changes in the composition and performance of the teams, with implications in the work of the Community Health Agent (ACS). The aim of this study was to investigate the meanings that ACS, acting in territories of the North of Minas, print to the changes proposed by the PNAB and the possible unfoldings for their work and the care of the population. Eight focus groups were carried out, with an approximate participation of 15 ACS per group, from July to December 2018. The results pointed out the different implications of the PNAB 2017 which, on the one hand, demonstrate the possibility of expanding the scope of the ACS together with the population residing in rural areas and, on the other, reveal a decharacterization of the nature of their educational work with a threat the existence of the category and the fragility of the principles of universality and integrality. It is necessary to discuss the conditions and workload of the ACS working in rural areas and the need to reorganize the work process of the primary healthcare teams in order to achieve a more extended and equitable care for rural households.
KEYWORDS
Primary Health Care; Family Health Strategy; Education, continuing; Community Health Workers