Acesso e utilização dos serviços de saúde bucal por idosos de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Abstract

Resumo: O objetivo foi medir a falta de acesso e a utilização dos serviços de saúde bucal por idosos de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Estudo transversal de base populacional foi realizado no ano de 2014, na zona urbana do município, incluindo indivíduos com 60 anos e mais. Variáveis sociodemográficas e de necessidade autorreferidas foram associadas aos desfechos. Utilizou-se regressão de Poisson para as análises bruta e ajustada. Foram entrevistados 1.451 idosos mediante um questionário estruturado. Falta de acesso no último ano alcançou uma prevalência de 1,8% (IC95%: 0,7-3,0). Idosos que nunca consultaram somaram 3,1% (IC95%: 2,2-4,0) e a utilização de serviços de saúde bucal no último ano registrou prevalência de 38,3% (IC95%: 36,0-41,0). A utilização no último ano apresentou associação positiva com as seguintes variáveis: faixa etária mais jovem (RP = 1,16), ter companheiro (RP = 1,28), alta escolaridade (RP = 1,31), problema na boca ou nos dentes (RP = 1,93), necessidade de prótese dentária (RP = 1,36) e ser edêntulo (RP = 3,11). A falta de acesso no último ano foi baixa. A utilização de serviços de saúde bucal foi mais alta do que a observada em outros estudos. Os achados parecem refletir a expansão desses serviços, particularmente na rede pública, sendo úteis para as ações de planejamento das políticas de saúde.

Satisfaction of octogenarians with Primary Health Care services

“…As the population of the study is a group of octogenarians with specific characteristics related to the aging process, recognizing the importance of this health system, as a social protection policy, becomes crucial if it is to continue to be strengthened. The results confirm the constant use of health services by octogenarians, as all the respondents used the services of the FHS (Family Health Strategy) at least once a month 4,6,11,19 .…”

“…The information obtained shows that satisfaction with the work of the Nursing team and CHAs is greater. Literature shows that such a situation may be related to the care that these professionals provide to longlived older adults, listening to their problems and giving them clear guidance on how to manage the health service 6,8,11,19 . This fact can be related to the specificity of the work process in the FHS, which puts these workers, nursing staff and CHAs in constant contact with the population and on the front lines of care 20 .…”

“…In this context, Primary Health Care (PHC) services should be the preferential contact of users with health systems 5 , especially for octogenarians, due to the greater proximity of access and greater bond created with the professionals from these services 6 . Above all, regular and effective monitoring of PHC services can avoid complications among this population, so that they can live, even with health problems, with quality of life 5,7-9 . In this perspective, the evaluation of health services is an essential initiative to diagnose and institute actions that bring the population's expectations closer to the reorganization of the care model.…”

“…Most service evaluation studies consider only the perception of care offered to users, with those that address the organization of actions in a more comprehensive manner, related to the work performed by health teams, still incipient 6,10,11 . Thus, there are several instruments 11 used to measure the satisfaction of PHC services, such as the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCATool), the external evaluation instrument of the Primary Care Access and Quality Improvement Program and the Satisfaction with Primary Health Care questionnaire used in this study.…”

“…In this sense, due to population aging and the increasing proportion of octogenarians and their specific demands, it is crucial to include this age group in the processes of evaluating satisfaction with the health care provided. In addition, the evaluation of PHC services by these users is also relevant because it is the point of the Health Care Network (HCN) closest to this population 6 .…”