The body approach as a strategy used by occupational therapists to community health agents

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the strategies used by occupational therapists researchers to assist the Community Health Agents (ACS) in their work process for the facing of challenges arising from everyday life, in the personal and professional aspects. Intervention research held to 49 ACS of a family health program (PSF) and Community Health Agents program (PACS), the Municipal Secretary of Health of a city in the State of Sao Paulo-Brazil. The age of the participants ranged from 19 to 56 years old, most (42) female. The data were collected in eight meetings, with three distinct groups, conducted by the body approaches and participant observation to observe and compare the reflections arose. It was possible to carry out the qualitative analysis of the data from the materials collected in groups such as search as diaries participant observation and photographic records. Thus, we created the following categories: Heterogeneity, Hierarchy, Imitation, Spontaneity and Analogy. The body approach strategy provided participants a greater self-reflection about their work process. The researchers provided different body experiences to the ACSs to identify needs, issues of daily life, in search of problem solutions and rescue of occupational roles of each participant, allowing them an opportunity to actively engage in the construction of their existential reality, their subjectivity experience, to be a person and the (re) meaning of their daily life scenes.