PERMANENT EDUCATION WITH COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS: AN EXPERIENCE TO BE SHARED

The objective of this work is to share the experience of developing permanent education activities aimed at qualifying the work of community health workers (CHWs) at the Santa Cecilia Basic Health Unit in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, during two years (2013-2014 ). The activities were conducted weekly, lasted three hours, and were coordinated by a family doctor (who was a university teacher), with the collaboration of the nursing staff. Active methodologies were preferably used. Many themes were developed, and those were chosen by CHWs along with the project coordination. Over the two years, 147.5 hours of activities were performed on a regular basis; 14 CHWs reached minimal attendance. Some items evaluated by CHWs were (range 1-4): enough time to address the theme (3.5); methodology of work (3.7); language (3.8); and learning/understanding of the content (3.7). CHWs participation and performance at the meetings was also assessed, and individual feedback was performed. The activity contributed to greater integration among CHWs and between them and other team members, particularly those who participated in the meetings, and stimulated the curiosity and creativity of CHWs, who were very participatory. According to CHWs, the work helped to improve their approach to people in the community, especially because they gained confidence. A specific space for CHWs training was consolidated in this health unit, which was highly valued by CHWs. However, integration of lessons learned with everyday practice was flawed, as the coordinator of the activity was not intensely present on the daily practice of the teams.