Quality of primary health care: an analysis of avoidable hospitalizations in a Minas Gerais county, Brazil.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of primary health care based on avoidable hospitalizations of men and women of all ages, from 2008 to 2012 in Alfenas County in the south of Minas Gerais state. This was an ecological study based on data from the Hospital Information System (HIS). The medical diagnoses selected for the study were pneumonia, diabetes mellitus and diseases of the circulatory system. There was a predominance of elderly males diagnosed with pneumonia, with an average hospital stay of five days. Admission rates for diseases of the circulatory system and diabetes mellitus tended to remain stable during the study period. While for pneumonia there was a tendency of growth that reached a plateau in early March 2009, bringing the average rate up from 2.01 to 3.51. The data suggest that primary health care is poorly organized to meet these diagnoses, particularly for pneumonia.
Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brasil, ccv89@yahoo.com.br.
Carolina Costa Valcanti
CC
Avelino
Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brasil, ccv89@yahoo.com.br.
Sueli Leiko Takamatsu
SL
Goyatá
Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas.
Denismar Alves
DA
Nogueira
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso.
Ludmila Barbosa Bandeira
LB
Rodrigues
Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brasil, ccv89@yahoo.com.br.
Sarah Maria Souza
SM
Siqueira
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000628:therapy*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult