The quality of life of community health agents: an integrative review

Abstract

This study aimed to make an association between problems in the work process and involvement in the quality-of-life domains of community health agents. This is an integrative literature review, which allowed a synthesis of data and information from the guiding question: what is the relationship between work and the quality of life of community health agents? The descriptors “community health agent” and “worker 's health” or “quality of life” were used in the search for titles, abstracts and subjects in then formational resources: Virtual Health Library (BVS), encompassing Latin American Literature and from the Caribbean in Health Sciences (LILAC), PubMed portal (MEDLINE), digital library Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and academic Google. The bibliographic survey resulted in the final sample of 32 articles published between 2015-2021. The journals that published the most on the subject, with three publications each, were: Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Trabalho; Work, Education and Health Magazine; Revista Espaço para a Saúde. In all, 13 states and one region were the field of study in at least one published article. The states that had the most surveys in their municipalities were Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais and São Paulo. The issues identified in the articles were categorized into five: working conditions, devaluation, living in the community, professional identity and resolvability, and later associated with the psychological, physical and social domains.