Quality of health care for the elderly in primary care: an integrative review

Abstract

Objective: To investigate, through an integrative literature review, the quality of health care for the elderly in primary care. Material and Methods: Integrative literature review conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed, SciELO, LILACS and BDENF databases between April and May 2020, which generated 780 references. After removal of the duplicates and use of inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final sample consisted of 15 articles. Results: The quality of health care for the elderly in primary care was associated with potential and weaknesses that involved the availability and training of human resources, adoption of evaluation protocols, monitoring and follow-up, supply of inputs and structural variables linked to infrastructure and intersectoral support network. The effectiveness of actions to the elderly in primary care was related to the implementation of the Family Health Strategy, combined with the active action of the community health agent in the territory and the participation of the elderly in the decisions. Conclusion: Strengthening the health care of the elderly in primary care involves short, medium and long-term efforts related to education, human and material resources management, networking, and the formation of ties with the territory and the elderly person.