Atenção à saúde da criança no Brasil: avaliação das ações desenvolvidas na atenção primária à saúde

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate actions toward to children's health performed in primary health care (PHC) in Brazil. Methods: Evaluative research with data from the second cycle of the Program for Improving Access and Quality of PHC. The analysis was carried out in Brazil and its regions, classifying the variables in the themes 'Planning and Management of Health Care' and 'Performance of Actions'. Each health action was evaluated by the percentage of affirmative answers to the questions, with "High" (> = 90%), "Average" (> = 80% and <90%) and "Low" (<80%). The closeness between the regions and the designated classification was evaluated by correspondence analysis. Results: In the theme ''Planning and Management of Health Care', the "Low" classification was more frequent in the North and Central West regions. In the 'Performance of Actions' theme, the use of health care protocols and the active search for patients were classified as "Low" in all regions. Northeast and Southeast presented the highest number of variables in the "High" classification, in both themes evaluated. Conclusions: Regional differences and the frequency of "Low" classification, especially in the North, indicate that health care in children needs to be rethought in PHC, improving the access and the quality of health care, so there is a need to strengthen planning and self-evaluation actions.