Avaliação dos atributos da atenção primária à saúde em Chapecó, Brasil

Abstract

Objective : In this study, we aimed to evaluate the adequacy of the structure and processes of primary health care (PHC) in a midsize city in southern Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the structure and processes of PHC. The structure was evaluated, based on the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, by interviewing 24 coordinators of Primary Healthcare Units (PHU); and the processes of care were assessed, based on PHC attributes measured by the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCATool-Brazil), by interviewing 98 professional doctors and nurses. Results: We observed inadequacies regarding the high number of inhabitants attended per health team, the low offer of medical consultations, low vocational training for PHC, and lack of systematic evaluation of actions. Likewise, the processes were considered satisfactory regarding some PHC attributes and unsatisfactory in relation to first-contact access (score: 3.6) and longitudinality (score: 6.0). Conclusion: The adequacy of the health system in Chapecó would imply increasing the number of medical consultations/year by 56 thousand, building two new PHUs, stimulating vocational training for PHC, and encouraging the systematic evaluation of actions.