title: [Quality assessment of primary care by health professionals: a comparison of different types of services].
abstract: In Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, public primary healthcare (PHC) is provided by traditional Basic Health Units (BHU), the Family Health Strategy (FHS), the Murialdo Health Center (MHC), and the Community Health Service (CHS) of Grupo Hospitalar Conceição. This study compares the quality of adult healthcare among these different types of services. Quality of care was measured by interviews focusing on the experience of physicians and nurses in the services (n = 340), using the Primary Care Assessment Tool. Overall scores for the FHS, MHC, and CHS were significantly higher than for the BHU. The CHS also showed a significantly higher overall score compared to the FHS and MHC. In the multivariate analysis, the variables "specialized training in PHC" and "continuing education" were associated with high overall score. Thus, expansion of FHS coverage and investment in professional training are important potential strategies for improving PHC in Porto Alegre.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil. rodrigo_caprio@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Rodrigo Caprio Leite de
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Daniela Riva
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Knauth
authors.forename: Erno
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harzheim
authors.forename: Lisiane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Bruce Bartholow
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Duncan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004496:Education, Continuing; D005192:Family Health / Q000592:standards*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008503:Medical Staff / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care