Health Academy Program: Correlation between noncommunicable chronic disease hospitalizations and program adherence in Brazilian municipalities, 2011-2017

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the correlation between municipalities adhering to the Health Fitness Center Program, noncommunicable chronic disease (NCD) hospitalizations and socioeconomic levels from 2011 to 2017. Methods: This was an ecological study; HFCP adherence indicators for 2,837 municipalities were calculated, as were NCD hospitalization indicators, according to funding categories and the Firjan Socioeconomic Development Index. Results: The HFCP adherence indicator was higher for municipalities that received Congress funding (1.18), had moderate to high Firjan Socioeconomic Development Indices (0.94) and high NCD hospitalization indicators (1.03) (p<0.001). There were positive correlations (p<0.05) between the two indicators in municipalities receiving Ministry of Health funding (r=0.14) and those receiving both Congress and Ministry of Health funding (r=0.12); whereas correlation was negative in municipalities with moderate to low Firjan Socioeconomic Development Indices (r=-0.09; p=0.013). Conclusion: The main form of adherence to the HFCP, according to population size, was through Congress funding. Municipalities with poorer socioeconomic and NCD indicators had lower adherence to the HFCP.