PNAB 2017 and the number of community health agents in primary care in Brazil.

After two years, the greatest reduction was observed in towns in the Midwest and South regions, which presented a high HDI, lower inequality and larger populations. Towns in the Midwest (HR = 1.256) had a higher chance of reducing the number of CHAs compared to the North region. Towns with a higher HDI (HR = 1.053) and larger population size (HR = 1.186) were also more likely to reduc the number of community health agents. Therefore, after the 2017 PNA, the number of towns reducing the amount of community health workers in primary health care increased over the months.