Community Health Agent's Handbook: an experience of shared knowledge production

The Community Health Agent's Handbook was produced as an information, communication and popular education device, grounded on the handbooks' utilitarian and dialogical tradition. It was based on the premise that the agents' narratives are a privileged cultural field to understand the cultural dynamics of knowledge production on healthcare, due to their mediating role between health professional teams and the communities where they live and work. A qualitative sample was selected among Community Health Agents in three regions in Brazil, and also among healthcare professionals, coordinators and educators. Data collection was developed through narrative interviews, reading workshops and appropriation of handbooks. In addition, data were obtained from an extensive compilation of iconographic and textual sources. This paper presents the construction method and thematic structure of the Handbook, emphasizing its narrative character of a "popular encyclopedia".