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Effects of Urban Violence on Primary Healthcare: The Challenges of Community Health Workers in Performing House Calls in Dangerous Areas.

Authors :
Bellas, Hugo Cesar
Jatobá, Alessandro
Bulhões, Bárbara
Koster, Isabella
Arcuri, Rodrigo
Burns, Catherine
Grindrod, Kelly
de Carvalho, Paulo Victor R.
Source :
Journal of Community Health; Jun2019, Vol. 44 Issue 3, p569-576, 8p, 4 Charts
Publication Year :
2019

Abstract

Community health workers in developing countries usually perform house calls in degraded and violent territories. Thus, in this paper we study the effects of urban violence in the performance of CHWs in poorly developed territories, in order to understand the challenges of delivering care to dangerous communities in developing countries. We conducted telephone surveys for 5 months in 2017, within a systematic sample of 2.000 CHWs based on clinics distributed along the health regions of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We completed 766 interviews, approximately 40% of the sample, 86% man and 14% women. Most participants are 30 to 39 years old (35%), followed by 27% of 40 to 49 years old participants. As CHWs work on the sharp end of the healthcare system, responsible for outreaching, community education, counseling, and social support, our study presents contributions to government and management levels on working conditions inside communities, constraints in assistance, and difficulties in implementing primary care policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00945145
Volume :
44
Issue :
3
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Journal of Community Health
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
136256223
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00657-2