Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: LEONARA RAQUEL DA SILVA REBOUÇAS

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : LEONARA RAQUEL DA SILVA REBOUÇAS
DATE: 03/07/2026
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Online
TITLE:

Working conditions and mental health of community health agents in Natal/RN

KEY WORDS:

Working conditions; Psychological health; Community health agents.

PAGES: 42
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Psicologia
SUMMARY:

The work of the Community Health Agent (CHA) plays an important role in the organization and
expansion of Primary Health Care (PHC) in Brazil. Developed within the scope of the Family Health
Strategy, the activities carried out by CHAs are considered the link between the community and health
services. The agents' duties consist, among other things, of registering and monitoring families within
their micro-area through home visits. Although the performance of CHAs is essential for the
implementation of the Unified Health System (SUS), the literature has highlighted a set of risks and
health issues present in their work, such as the bureaucratization of labour and a greater overload, since
there are no boundaries between their working time and their daily life in the community. These
aspects, related to work processes and conditions, have repercussions on the psychological health of
the workers, such as a high prevalence of anxiety and depression, and significant rates of occupational
stress. Given this scenario, this research aims to analyse the working conditions, mental health, and
well-being experienced by community health agents within the scope of PHC in Natal/RN. We
understand working conditions as a multidimensional phenomenon that encompasses both the work
environment and its content, being composed of four categories: Contractual and legal conditions;
Physical and material conditions; Processes and characteristics of the activity; Socio-managerial
environment conditions. Similarly, mental health is considered a multidimensional and complex
phenomenon. For its study, we adopt the framework of Peter Warr, who considers that mental health
should be treated as a continuum, described by five components: affective well-being, personal
competence, autonomy, aspiration, and integrated functioning. We also utilize the social causation
model by Mirowsky and Ross, who consider the link between mental health and the concrete social
conditions in which individuals live. For them, differences in social positions are associated with the
way individuals perceive themselves, those around them, and society, highlighting three essential
aspects for its understanding: alienation, authoritarianism, and inequity (inequality). This research is
qualitative and descriptive in nature. The participants are CHAs from Natal/RN, located in one of the
municipality's Sanitary Districts (North I and North II, South, East, and West). The intention is to have

participants from all districts, given that each one possesses distinct specificities and realities. We
conducted semi-structured interviews based on a previously developed guide, which includes questions
regarding the investigated themes. We also applied a sociodemographic form to characterize the
participants. The interviews are recorded for subsequent literal transcription and take place at the basic
health units where the CHAs are stationed. We will perform thematic content analysis, and to assist in
this process, we will use the QDAMiner software as support. With these results, we hope to contribute
to advancing the production of knowledge on the topics studied, as well as to the municipality’s
management strategies related to the work of these agents, and to the strengthening of collective efforts
aimed at improving working conditions and promoting health and well-being.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - FERNANDO FALEIROS DE OLIVEIRA - UFF
Interna - 3060767 - SABRINA CAVALCANTI BARROS
Externa à Instituição - SILVANIA DA CRUZ BARBOSA - UEPB