Community health agent program: perception by patients and health service workers

Two basic premises of Brazil's Community Health Agents Program (PACS) are to value the family and community to which the program belongs and to encourage their participation in health promotion and disease prevention. This study focused on the work developed by PACS in Bauru, São Paulo State, as perceived by the community health agents and the families served by them. As the study's point of departure, 22 community health agents and 22 representatives of families were interviewed, randomly selected according to residential micro-areas. Two focus groups were formed according to the PACS to which the community agents and families belonged. Qualitative analysis of the answers demonstrated agreement between the perceptions by community health agents and the community in the two focus groups. However, the two focus groups differed from each other. Distinct realities were observed in the two communities, thereby orienting new program actions and handling of local difficulties.