Organization and quality of health care for Kaingáng Indians in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

This study assesses the health care provided to Kaingáng Indians in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Deaths preventable by primary health care among the Indians and occurring from 1985 to 1995 were compared to the same rates for the State of Rio Grande do Sul as a whole. Secondary data on health care services were supplemented by field interviews with indigenous leaders and with employees from participating institutions. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to correlate distribution of deaths and access to health services. The Kaingáng settlements are connected by paved roads to counties with at least a public health clinic or even a small hospital in some cases. Secondary referrals are treated in Palmeiras das Missões and Frederico Westphallen and tertiary care is provided in Passo Fundo. What distinguishes the Indian settlements from the rest of the State are the high rates of deaths preventable by primary health care and those related to ill-defined conditions, malnutrition, tuberculosis, and cancer of the uterine cervix.