Agentes comunitários de saúde: saberes sobre os riscos à saúde dos trabalhadores agrícolas expostos ao agrotóxico

Abstract

The use of agrochemicals in agricultural production is growing every year in exponential numbers. In Boa Vista-Roraima, this consumption is no different, since agricultural activity in this region has been showing significant growth. However, this use is accompanied by little knowledge about health risks, as well as potential health problems. Thus, this research had as main objective to investigate the knowledge of Community Health Agents on the health risks arising from the manipulation and exposure by rural workers to pesticides. The research was carried out in seven Basic Health Units of the municipality of Boa Vista, with 38 community health agents. In this context, the development of this research made it possible to identify problems to be solved related to the assistance to agricultural workers and the rural population, since there are no basic health units in these regions. The methodological procedure adopted for the development of the research with the ACS was the accomplishment of interviews, elaborated based on semi-structured scripts with open and closed questions. The research was conducted from January to April 2018. The results indicated the need to stimulate discussion with health professionals about the use of pesticides and the health risks resulting from this use. As a result of the research, an extension project was carried out with the help of the students of the nursing technical course of the IFRR to train the CHA on how to deal with patients potentially exposed to pesticides. The extension project was developed through theoretical-practical workshops that could bring the community health agents closer to the reality of possible cases of intoxication, as well as attributions in such situations. It was verified that, through the development of the project, the CHAs were able to identify needs for better health care for the rural population. In short, the realization of these activities made it possible to bring the IFRR / CBV closer to the community, given the possibility of jointly devising strategies to promote better health care for the underserved population.