Extensão de Cobertura ou Reorganização da Atenção Básica? A trajetória do Programa de Saúde da Família de Manaus-AM

Inequity in utilizing health services in the Brazilian Amazon: A population-based survey, 2015

BACKGROUND

Although Brazil has a public and universal healthcare system, utilization of health services is marked by social and regional discrepancies.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence and factors associated with underutilization of healthcare services in the Brazilian Amazon.

METHOD

Cross-sectional, population-based study. Adults aged over 18 years old were selected through probabilistic sampling. Underutilization of healthcare services was defined as never seeing a physician or a dentist. Poisson regression with robust variance was performed to calculate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A complex sample design was considered.

RESULTS

A total of 4001 individuals were included, of which 419 (10.4%; 95% CI, 9.5-11.4%) never visited a physician or a dentist. In the adjusted analysis, underutilization was higher among poorer people (PR = 3.32; 95% CI, 2.16-5.11), men (PR = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.10-1.65), people with brown skin color (Brazilian mixed race; PR = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.02-1.76), and people who are separated (PR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.01-1.94) and widowed (PR = 1.55; 95% CI, 1.02-2.37), when compared with the reference categories. Individuals with informal jobs, those who are retired, students/housewives, and unemployed people were more vulnerable to underutilization than formal workers (P < .04).

CONCLUSION

Underutilization of healthcare services occurs in one-tenth of adults in Manaus Metropolitan Region and is associated with social and economic inequities.

PRIMARY HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT: WHAT IS DISCUSSED IN THE LITERATURE

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify what is discussed in studies published in Brazilian and international literature in the last ten years on Primary Health Care management. Method: an integrative review with a search carried out from 2006 to 2016, in the SciELO®, LILACS®, Scopus®, PubMed® and CINAHL® databases in the Portuguese, English and Spanish languages. The review followed the steps: formulation of the research question, definition of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, identification and selection of the studies, and summary of the subjects found in the studies. Resources from The Atlas.ti® software was used for data organization and analysis. Results: the corpus include 90 studies which predominantly originated from LILACS® and were performed in Brazil. The themes covered in the publications were: health policy and management in Primary Health Care, material resources management, human resources management, financial management, quality management, planning, characterization of managers, management role/ activities, challenges/difficulties in management, potentialities/facilities in management. There was a prevalence of studies that dealt with Primary Health Care management in the context of reflections on health policies and those dealing with the challenges/difficulties faced in Primary Health Care management. These findings demonstrate that the Primary Health Care model is complex and challenging, both for policymakers and for those managing it. Conclusion: the number of studies on Primary Health Care management is significant in the current literature and the predominance of health policy and difficulties in performing management issues reinforce the recognition of the centrality of the management for effective Primary Health Care.

The benefits and challenges of the Family Health Strategy in Brazilian Primary Health care: a literature review

The aim of this study was to analyze what contributions the Family Health Strategy has made towards the development of primary healthcare in Brazil, and what challenges it faces. A literature review was conducted and articles were analyzed from three dimensions: political/institutional, organizational, and technical/healthcare. In the first dimension, the Family Health Strategy was found to have helped expand primary healthcare, the institutionalization of evaluations, and the promotion of equity. The main challenges identified were funding, the training, education, and management of personnel, and cross-sectoral action. In terms of organization, the benefits include a broader supply of services, access to health services through organized initiatives for specific diseases or age groups, and more comprehensive healthcare. The challenges involve access, the entry point, integration with the healthcare network, planning, and social participation. As for technical/healthcare considerations, the main benefits identified were the fostering of multidisciplinary working practices, family focus, reception, rapport, humanization, community orientation, production of care, and performance. The challenges for its improvement are associated with complex factors and require greater political/institutional effort.

Determinantes sócio-históricos do cuidado na Estratégia Saúde da Família: a perspectiva de usuários da área rural

O presente estudo teve por objetivo identificar os determinantes sócio-históricos atribuídos pelos usuários às vivências de cuidado na Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) na área rural do município de Sacramento/MG. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório com abordagem qualitativa, utilizando para a coleta de dados a técnica de grupos focais e para a interpretação dos resultados, a análise de conteúdo. Foram constituídos três grupos com representantes das famílias de três, dentre seis, povoados rurais, totalizando 36 sujeitos, doze em cada grupo, residentes na área rural e usuários da ESF há pelo menos dois anos, escolhidos com base em fichas de cadastro das famílias na ESF estudada. Sob a perspectiva do materialismo histórico, a análise de conteúdo dos grupos foi concentrada em quatro categorias: disponibilidade; acesso a recursos; movimento socialecondições materiais. Os resultados demonstraram satisfação dos usuários em relação à disponibilidade da equipe para a atenção, e o tato nas relações; engajamento na manutenção das condições de saúde e atuação na dimensão sócio-histórica do processo saúde/doença com objetivo de melhorar as condições de vida e trabalho. Houve insatisfação em relação ao aspecto organizacional, remetendo a tudo que ainda está insuficiente, precário ou inexistente nas comunidades. Observou-se na ação da equipe o desenvolvimento de capacidades junto à comunidade que garantiam seus direitos sociais e sua politização. Conclui-se que o enfrentamento do processo saúde/doença pela comunidade e equipe da ESF envolve outros elementos, além do conhecimento técnico-científico, que determinam a simetria do vínculo profissional/usuário viabilizando a produção conjunta de saúde na comunidade.

[Brazilian scientific production on the Family Health Strategy and the change in the model of care]

The variety of existing studies addressing the Family Health Strategy (ESF) and its role in the reorientation of the model of care in the country has motivated the systematization of the advances and limitations described in these studies. Thus, this study, from a review of the scientific production on this theme, analyzed if the ESF has been able to modify the model of care. Forty-one articles from the Scielo database published between 2002 and 2010 that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were analyzed. They were fully analyzed in terms of political-institutional, organizational or technical-care dimensions. The results show that despite the improvement in the work process in primary care, its replacement aspect was not seen in the majority of the studies. Universal expansion of access to the health services, extension of coverage and focus were predominant. The changes are observed when analyzed in light of the demand, with better attendance and connectivity. The most evident limits are in the lack of focus on health needs, as in the territorial issue, community participation and the social determinants addressed in an intersectoral way. Different degrees of the implementation of strategy were identified, though they have not yet resulted in system reorganization at local level.