Primary health care users’ satisfaction in the Federal District: The importance of timely access and home visits

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to analyze user satisfaction in relation to Primary Health Care services in the Federal District and its associated factors. A total of 4,476 users of the 62 existing Family Health Strategy Teams from the Eastern Health Region were included; a pre-tested questionnaire with open and closed questions was applied. As for the “General Satisfaction Level” 54.9% of users were Satisfied and 23.0% Very Satisfied. For this outcome there was less satisfaction in cases that the user didn´t receive the care he sought for (OR 12.1 p=0.01); did not receive a home visit (OR 1.7 p=0.01); is female (OR 1.2 p=0.01) and declared to be nonwhite (OR 0.77 p=0.021). The “Chance to recommend the Health Unit” was: High (43.4%) and Very High (17.7%). Similarly, the lower chance to recommend was associated with no care received (OR 5.1 p=0.01) and absence of home visit (OR 1.5 p=0.01); there was no association with so-ciodemographic variables. Evidence showed that health services are satisfactory for most users. The study provides evidence regarding the importance of having the complete Family Health Strategy team and of expanding home visit.