An unprecedented survey found that 62.3% of Brazilians needed medical care in Primary Health Care (PHC) in the last year, but did not seek. The data are from the research “More Data, Mais Saúde”, conducted by Vital Strategies and UMANE, with technical partnership from the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) and support from the Devive Institute and Resolve To Save Lives.
The study evaluated the perception of the population about the access and quality of PHC, gateway to the public and private health system. The survey was made between August and September 2024 from interviews with 2,458 Brazilians users of both the private and the Unified Health System (SUS), 18 years or older.
According to the survey, among the reasons not to seek care, overcrowding and the delay in service corresponded to 46.9%of the answers, followed by bureaucracy in the referral (39.2%), the practice of self -medication (35.1%) and the belief that the problem is not serious (34.6%), among others.
In addition, the survey showed that 40.5% of respondents sought medical help in the last 12 months and failed to care. The obstacles pointed out were long waiting time (62.1%), lack of equipment (34.4%), lack of appropriate professionals (30.5%) and lack of attention (29%), among others.
For researchers, the result shows that the overload of the Brazilian, public or private health system, can lead to the search for search for medical care, reinforcing the need for more investments and improvements in service management to optimize supply and reduce waiting time.
The survey also pointed to the widespread cultural habit of self -medication, that is, treatment without professional assistance, which can lead to inadequate use of medicines, postponement of effective treatments and even the aggravation of paintings.
“As a gateway to SUS and in their role as career of care, primary health care must be organized to ensure that most population health issues are prevenable and treatable, without evolving to more complex frameworks. Strengthening these mechanisms so that the population seeks carefully when necessary and receives the care they need is fundamental to have a more efficient and resolution health system,” says Thais Junqueira, Thais, Thais, Thais, Thais, Thais, Thais, UMANE’s superintendent-general, in a statement.
57.6% complain about waiting time to be answered
Another point evaluated by the research was the perception of users in relation to the last consultation with a health professional or in a habitual care unit, either public and private. For this, respondents could evaluate each item as bad, bad, regular and very good.
Of the eight items evaluated, six had more positive responses. The main highlight was regarding respect for privacy and confidentiality, pointed as regular or very good by 79.2% of respondents, followed by positive evaluation of 75.1% to understand the explanations provided.
In addition, 67.8% of the population considers confidence in the professional with whom he talked as positive, while 64.4% praised the opportunity to question or raise concerns. Of the respondents, 59.8% pointed to positive participation in care/treatment decisions and 56.3% well evaluated the duration of the consultation.
On the other hand, they had negative assessment the waiting time to be attended, criticized by 57.6% of the ears, and ease of referral, with complaints of 51.5% of the population.
“These findings suggest that while most users of the public and private health system report positive experiences in their consultations, important and structural challenges that make it difficult to access and the quality of primary health care. Improvements that guarantee continuous investments and improvement of services to promote greater equity in the health care of the population,” says Luciana Sardinha, Assistant Director of Chronic Diseases not transmitted. Vital Strategies.
More than 50% of Brazilians go to the doctor only with serious problems
This content was originally published in 62% of Brazilians do not seek medical attention when they need on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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