Community Healthcare Workers’ Perception of an Educational Intervention in the Care of Patients with Sickle Cell Disease in Brazil

INTRODUCTION: Despite advances in the management of sickle cell disease, gaps still exist in the training of primary healthcare professionals for monitoring patients with the disease. OBJECTIVE: To assess the perception of community healthcare workers about the care and monitoring of patients with sickle cell disease after an educational intervention. METHOD: This exploratory, descriptive, and the qualitative study was conducted in Montes Claros, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The intervention involved the educational training of community healthcare workers from the Family Health Program of the Brazilian Unified Health System. The focus group technique was used to collect the data. The following topics were covered in the discussion: assessment of educational workshops, changes observed in the perception of professionals after training, profile of home visits, and access to and provision of basic healthcare services to individuals with sickle cell disease. The discussions were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were subjected to content analysis and empirically organized into two categories. RESULTS: Changes in the healthcare practices of community health workers were observed after the educational intervention. The prioritization of healthcare services for patients with sickle cell disease and monitoring of clinical warning signs in healthcare units were observed. Furthermore, changes were observed in the profile of home visits to patients, which were performed using a script provided in the educational intervention. CONCLUSION: The educational intervention significantly changed the work process of community health workers concerning patient monitoring in primary healthcare.