CHALLENGES IN PSYCHOSOCIAL CARE OF USERS OF PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES FACED BY COMMUNITY HEALTH AGENTS IN THE TERRITORY
Primary Health Care. Community Health Agents. Mental Health. Harm
Reduction. Drugs.
Throughout human existence, it is common to perceive the use of multiple
psychoactive substances due to different reasons, meanings, and contexts. When
addressing such theme, understanding how this demand reaches the Unified Health
System (UHS) is essential, especially in Primary Health Care (PHC), as well as how
it relates to the professional activities of Community Health Agents (CHAs). Thus, this
research has as its main objective to comprehend how Community Health Agents in
Primary Health Care take care of individuals who make harmful use of psychoactive
substances. The field of research was a Basic Health Unit (BHU) in the city of Santa
Cruz, RN. This is a case study of a qualitative nature, which was carried out through
an intervention-research approach and based on the theoretical framework of
Institutional Analysis. The activities that were developed with the CHAs took place
between August and September, 2021. The data were collected through the three
following instruments: a conversation circle, semi-structured interviews, and a
research diary. In total, 01 conversation circle and 08 individual interviews were
carried out. As for the diary, it was prepared during the experiences described above
as a potential for analysis and reflection in the in loco meetings in the research. With
regard to the analysis of the collected data, important concepts from the theoretical
framework of Institutional Analysis were applied, such as order, demand,
transversality, and implication. When analyzing the interfaces of the CHAs’ work
experiences, the following results were found: a low demand at the BHU by users of
psychoactive substances; valuation of the biomedical model and medicalization;
hospitalization in therapeutic communities as an instituted possibility of care; low
planning in the individual provision of care; and little coverage in intersectoral
articulation. Therefore, although the CHAs’ work may be a challenging task, it is still
possible to act in a daily collective construction that gives space for care based on
the bond, listening, and welcoming guided by the principles that rule Harm
Reduction, expanded clinic, and the UHS.