Community Health Workers and the use of digital health

Transformations of a living work

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5335579
AutoresRomário Correia Dos Santos (0000-0002-4973-123X, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz), Lenira Ferreira Ribeiro (0000-0003-0494-3770, Universidade Federal da Bahia), Cláudia Fell Amado (0000-0003-3852-0792, Universidade Federal da Bahia), Aline Do Monte Gurgel (0000-0002-5981-3597, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz), Luis Carlos Nunes Vieira De Vieira (0009-0003-8595-5294, Ministério da Saúde (MS), Brasil), Lívia Milena Barbosa De Deus E Mello (0000-0001-5737-751X, Ministério da Saúde (MS), Brasil), Liliana Santos (0000-0002-8958-4094, Universidade Federal da Bahia)
Año2025
Volumen49
Número146
Fecha de publicación2025-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSaúde em Debate (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0103-1104 • E-ISSN: 2358-2898
EditorialFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/2358-289820251469891i
OpenAlexW4413451662
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas25

Community Health Workers (CHWs) are immersed in technological transformation that directly impacts their knowledge and practices. This article aims to analyze the advantages of digital health based on the use of mobile technologies in Primary Health Care in the work of the CHWs. This qualitative research uses a triangulation of methods supported by interviews, focus groups, and non-participant observation involving union leaders, managers, and health professionals. The data collected were interpreted based on content analysis. The results indicate advantages of the work of the CHWs with digital technologies for the health system, such as expanding access and coverage, improved quality of collected information, territorial planning, and care. There were gains in social legitimacy for the professional category due to the technological densification of work. It is also noted that despite digital transformations, their territorial insertion should be guided by the production of care from the perspective of the social determination of health and living work. It is concluded that, although the fourth technological revolution is irreversible, the work and presence of CHWs in the daily life of the territory will remain indispensable

Community health · Community health workers · Environmental health · Health services · Public health · Sociology · Work (physics) · Engineering · Medicine · Nursing · Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation