Women in situations of violence: limits of assistance.

This paper analyzes the limitations of the care of professionals of family health teams provided to women in situations of violence in the integrated care network in a city in the northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The data is part of a survey conducted with six teams participating in family health care in the course of eight meetings, in which the group identified the limits and potential of the practice. The causes of limits, solutions and improvement actions were discussed in a movement of reflection, action and learning. The empirical material was recorded, transcribed and subjected to Bardin's thematic content analysis. The results show the lack of coordination between the sectors of the network; lack of protocol, flow and organization of reference and counter-reference; inefficiency of police, judiciary and security sectors; and the lack of professionals to work on violence against women and in the perspective of the network as restrictive conditions for efficient practice. The need is highlighted for greater support of municipal managers to the professionals for networking and encouragement through the qualification and ongoing education courses that address issues such as gender equity, guarantee of rights and a care network.

[Healthcare practices for users suffering from violence: from invisibility to comprehensive (un)care]. / Práticas de saúde aos usuários em situação de violência: da invisibilidade ao (des)cuidado integral.

The aim of this study was to investigate practices of health professionals for users undergoing violence from perspective of comprehensive care. This study was based on a qualitative and descriptive research on graduate-level and technical health professionals who work in the Family Health Strategy programme in a northeastern municipality of Rio Grande do Sul. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic mode. Results showed that these professionals do not utilize comprehensiveness to guide their care practices with users undergoing violence. Instead, they still work according to the biomedical model in which intervention is based on referring care to other sectors and the treatment plan.The study highlights the need for more appropriation and further discussion on practices regarding violence guided by the principle of comprehensiveness within the Family Healthcare team.

[Work process of community health agents: possibilities and limits]. / Processo de trabalho dos agentes comunitários de saúde: possibilidades e limites.

The current study is aimed at getting to know and analyzing the work process of community health agents (CHA) from a municipality of the Northeastern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul through a qualitative approach. The collection of data was carried out by means of a semi-structured interview applied to 23 CHAs. The Thematic Content Analysis was utilized for the data analysis. The results evidenced some possibilities, such as: communication with the participating families, establishing bonds, and recognition of/satisfaction towards the professional agent by the community; and among some of the limits were: difficulty to perform team work; difficulty to perform collective tasks in the community; low salary/work overload and lack of qualification. Evidence shows the need of reorganizing the work process of these professionals with higher investment in education and instrumentation by adopting a permanent educational policy.