Primary care features in child hospitalization: First-contact access and Longitudinality

Abstract

Objective: to identify two features of primary health care, namely First-contact access and Longitudinality in hospitalized children. Methods: cross-sectional study carried out in two hospitals with 120 children under five years of age hospitalized due to sensitive conditions of primary health care. Data collection performed using the Primary Care Assessment Tool. Results: the degree of affiliation obtained a better score (approximately 8.0), being the only one among all components of the instrument satisfactorily evaluated (>= 6.6). Longitudinality (>4.0) had a lower score than First-contact access (5.6). According to the parents, the nurse was the professional who had most performed the follow-up in childcare. Conclusion: the results point to weaknesses in services and carergivers' dissatisfaction, evidenced by the poor following to the Primary Health Care principles.