Ações de promoção da saúde para adultos e idosos e o uso dos serviços de saúde na Atenção Básica: um estudo retrospectivo

Abstract

Introduction: In recent years, the epidemiological picture has shown that chronic non-communicable diseases are increasingly prevalent. Consequently, there is an increase in the use of health services, which causes greater expenses for the public health system. Offering health promotion actions in Primary Health Care is considered an effective strategy for healthy aging. Thus, participation in these actions can have an economic impact for users and the public health system. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between health promotion actions offered in Primary Care and the use of health services in the city of São Carlos, SP. Methods: It was a longitudinal and retrospective research which found health promotion actions in all health units in the municipality and analyzed the medical records and attendance records of the participants in the actions, in order to verify how they used the health network at the primary level, compared to those who did not participate, with a sample of 496 people. Number of visits, reasons for seeking service, professional responsible for the service, number of tests and number of medications were analyzed. The study followed all ethical aspects of research. Descriptive analyzes and intergroup comparison were performed using the statistical package Software Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) considering the value of p ≤0.05, with the Mann Whitney Test for comparison between groups. Results: Of the 28 units analyzed, 71% had health promotion actions, divided into two categories:a) supervised body/manual activities (40,6%), and b) health education activities (59,4%). The average age of the participating group was 60,6 years (SD±13,1) and the non participating group was 60,4 years (SD±13,0). Of the 3252 consultations analyzed, there was a statistically significant difference between the groups for the variables number of visits, number of medications and number of tests. Conclusion: Individuals who participated in health promotion actions used the health service more due the strengthening of the bond with the health unit, promoted through participation in the actions, which positively influenced the adherence of recommendations for maintaining health and disease prevention by health service users.