Improving coordination between primary care (PC) and secondary care (SC) has become a policy priority in recent years for many Latin American public health systems looking to reinforce a healthcare model based on PC. However, despite being a longstanding concern, it has scarcely been analyzed in this region. This paper analyses the level of clinical coordination between PC and SC experienced by doctors and explores influencing factors in public healthcare networks of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay. A cross-sectional study was carried out based on a survey of doctors working in the study networks (348 doctors per country). The COORDENA questionnaire was applied to measure their experiences of clinical management and information coordination, and their related factors. Descriptive analyses were conducted and a multivariate logistic regression model was generated to assess the relationship between general perception of care coordination and associated factors. With some differences between countries, doctors generally reported limited care coordination, mainly in the transfer of information and communication for the follow-up of patients and access to SC for referred patients, especially in the case of PC doctors and, to a lesser degree, inappropriate clinical referrals and disagreement over treatments, in the case of SC doctors. Factors associated with a better general perception of coordination were: being a SC doctor, considering that there is enough time for coordination within consultation hours, job and salary satisfaction, identifying the PC doctor as the coordinator of patient care across levels, knowing the doctors of the other care level and trusting in their clinical skills. These results provide evidence of problems in the implementation of a primary care-based model that require changes in aspects of employment, organization and interaction between doctors, all key factors for coordination.

IntroductionAlthough fragmentation in the provision of healthcare is considered an important obstacle to effective care, there is scant evidence on best practices in care coordination in Latin America. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of a participatory shared care strategy in improving coordination across care levels and related care quality, in health services networks in six different healthcare systems of Latin America.Methods and analysisA controlled before and after quasi-experimental study taking a participatory action research approach. In each country, two comparable healthcare networks were selected—intervention and control. The study contains four phases: (1) A baseline study to establish network performance in care coordination and continuity across care levels, using (A) qualitative methods: semi-structured interviews and focus groups with a criterion sample of health managers, professionals and users; and (B) quantitative methods: two questionnaire surveys with samples of 174 primary and secondary care physicians and 392 users with chronic conditions per network. Sample size was calculated to detect a proportion difference of 15% and 10%, before and after intervention (α=0.05; β=0.2 in a two-sided test); (2) a bottom-up participatory design and implementation of shared care strategies involving micro-level care coordination interventions to improve the adequacy of patient referral and information transfer. Strategies are selected through a participatory process by the local steering committee (local policymakers, health care network professionals, managers, users and researchers), supported by appropriate training; (3) Evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions by measuring changes in levels of care coordination and continuity 18 months after implementation, applying the same design as in the baseline study; (4) Cross-country comparative analysis.Ethics and disseminationThis study complies with international and national legal stipulations on ethics. Conditions of the study procedure were approved by each country's ethical committee. A variety of dissemination activities are implemented addressing the main stakeholders. Registration No.257 Clinical Research Register of the Santa Fe Health Department, Argentina.

Despite the existing resources for adequate dengue patient care in the Brazilian healthcare system, the case-fatality rate for the disease is still high in the country. In order to identify factors associated with dengue-related death, this study evaluated quality of care according to the degree of implementation of specific measures, the technical and scientific quality of care, and access to health services in two municipalities (counties) in Northeast Brazil. An evaluative study of the implementation analysis type was performed, with death from dengue as the sentinel event for quality of care. To assess the degree of implementation and quality of care, the study scored the interview criteria and patient chart analysis; access was evaluated by thematic analysis. As for structure and process, the health services were found to be partially adequate (70%). No geographic or economic barriers were found to explain the occurrence of deaths. Technical and scientific quality failed to achieve adequate levels in the municipalities (46% and 30%) or in the specific services, and clinical management of dengue by the health services proved insufficient.

Objective: Analyze the evaluation of the attributes of primary care made by users of basic units of Brazilian health by using PCATool instrument adapted to Brazil. Method: A systematic literature review conducted in the PubMed database, IBECS, LILACS, SciELO and BDTD. Results: 4,405 documents were found, selected 23 full texts. After Full reading and application of eligibility criteria, 14 articles were evaluated. The studies showed that primary care performs well in longitudinality attributes, completeness and coordination and worse performance on attributes access first contact, family counseling and community orientation, even in the basic units with the Family Health. Conclusion:The users of basic health units assessed as unsatisfactory attributes considered essential for a health care more equitable and competing for user autonomy and social control. It is inferred that there are still obstacles hindering user access to basic health services and care actions are still being developed without favoring user participation and the community context in which they live.

O estudo analisa a sustentabilidade da Política Nacional de Avaliação da Atenção Básica a partir da identificação e categorização dos eventos críticos representativos do processo de institucionalização. Pesquisa avaliativa com duas unidades de análise: Gestão Federal da Atenção Básica e Secretarias Estaduais de Saúde (SES). Estudo de casos múltiplos com dados coletados por meio de entrevistas e documentos institucionais, usando a técnica de Incidentes Críticos. Os eventos classificados temporalmente como específicos da implantação, da sustentabilidade e mistos, foram categorizados analiticamente como de memória, adaptação, valores e regras. A Gestão Federal e uma das SES resultaram no nível médio de sustentabilidade, a outra SES foi classificada no nível forte. Os resultados indicam concomitância dos eventos e sugerem uma ponderação, pois os de adaptação das atividades, adequação e estabilização dos recursos demonstraram forte influência sobre os outros. Inovações e Desenvolvimento da Capacidade Técnica são considerados os resultados mais importantes no sentido da sustentabilidade.

Healthcare coordination is considered key to improving care quality. Although participatory action research (PAR) has been used effectively to bridge the gap between evidence and practice in other areas, little is known about the key success factors of its use in healthcare organizations. This article analyses the factors influencing the implementation of PAR interventions to improve clinical coordination from the perspective of actors in public healthcare networks of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay. A qualitative, descriptive-interpretative study was conducted in each country’s healthcare network. Focus groups and semi-structured individual interviews were conducted to a criterion sample of: local steering committee (LSC) (29), professional platform (PP) (28), health professionals (49) and managers (28). Thematic content analysis was conducted, segmented by country and themes. The PAR process led by the LSC covered the return of baseline results, selection of problems and interventions and design, implementation and adjustment of the intervention, with PP. Interventions were implemented to improve communication and clinical agreement between primary and secondary care. Results reveal that contextual factors, the PAR process and the intervention’s content influenced their implementation, interacting across time. First, institutional support providing necessary resources, and professionals’ and managers’ willingness to participate, emerge as contextual pivotal factors, influenced by other factors related to: the system (alignment with policy and political cycle), networks (lack of time due to work overload and inadequate working conditions) and individuals (not knowing each other and mutual mistrust). Second, different characteristics of the PAR process have a bearing, in turn, on institutional support and professionals’ motivation: participation, flexibility, consensual decision-making, the LSC’s leadership and the facilitating role of researchers. Evidence is provided that implementation through an adequate PAR process can become a factor of motivation and cohesion that is crucial to the adoption of care coordination interventions, leading to better results when certain contextual factors converge.

OBJETIVOS: avaliar a implantação da atenção à saúde da criança em dois municípios do estado de Pernambuco, Brasil. MÉTODOS: pesquisa avaliativa, tipo análise de implantação. Consideradas três unidades de análise: unidade do Programa Saúde da Família (PSF) com profissionais treinados na Estratégia Atenção Integrada às Doenças Prevalentes da Infância (AIDPI), unidade sem esse treinamento e unidade tradicional. Para obtenção do grau de implantação foi realizada observação do manejo de casos e estrutura. A percepção dos profissionais e usuários foi apreendida por meio de entrevista e discussão em grupos focais. RESULTADOS: grau de implantação satisfatório para unidades do PSF, insatisfatório para unidade tradicional no Município 1 e insatisfatório para unidades do Município 2. Os profissionais consideraram bons a resolubilidade dos serviços e o relacionamento interpessoal, mas dificuldades no sistema de referência e falta de integração das equipes das unidades tradicionais. Os usuários relataram boa resolubilidade, mas dificuldades no acesso e nas relações interpessoais. CONCLUSÕES: a variação no grau de implantação apresentou como determinantes deficiências no manejo de casos e potencialidade da atenção prestada pelo enfermeiro. Não foi possível definir influência da AIDPI. Há melhor satisfação profissional e dos usuários para unidades do PSF, porém problemas no acesso e integralidade da atenção.

OBJETIVOS: este artigo apresenta um estudo da Implantação da Política de Monitoramento e Avaliação da Atenção Básica no Brasil. Estima o grau de implantação dos dispositivos institucionais e da Intervenção, além de avaliar a sua influência nos efeitos produzidos a partir da interação com o contexto político-organizacional. MÉTODOS: pesquisa avaliativa do tipo análise de implantação. Estudo de caso com níveis de análise imbricados e triangulação de métodos. Para estimar o grau de implantação consideraram-se os dispositivos institucionais produzidos, representativos dos componentes do modelo lógico da intervenção. Foram realizadas 20 entrevistas e analisados 29 documentos relacionados. RESULTADOS: a intervenção foi classificada como implantada em um grau Avançado, com 78% das ações realizadas. O contexto político-institucional foi caracterizado pela conjunção de decisão político-institucional, recursos financeiros, mecanismos técnicos e estratégias organizacionais de qualificação dos recursos humanos para avaliação com vistas à construção da capacidade institucional. Foi encontrado conjunto significante de efeitos não-intencionais como decorrência da pluralidade de dispositivos utilizados para a implantação da intervenção. CONCLUSÕES: A política revela um franco esforço objetivando a integração das ações no âmbito institucional e a descentralização das ações de avaliação. Neste sentido, duas características são marcantes: o desenvolvimento de capacidade técnica, por meio de processos avaliativos formativos, e o foco no fortalecimento das Secretarias Estaduais de Saúde.