Impact evaluation of primary health care on hospital admissions in Florianopolis, Brazil

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
    The Primary Care is characterized as the preferential entry of the Brazilian Health System, ensuring the continuity of the actions and the longitudinal care, with responsibility for a defined territory. The Family Health Strategy (ESF), especially in recent years, has been consolidated as guiding axis of primary care attention in the municipality of Florianópolis, Brazil. With the increasing of family health teams after 2005, beyond the natural increase in the supply of medical services, arose the need to evaluate the impact of the actions, through health indicators, as the number of hospital admissions, by age group, and for Sensitive Causes of Primary Care (CSAP).


RESULTS

- Increase in number of Family Health Teams (2005 – 46 / 2007 – 87);
-  Incresase on medical consults between 2002 (0,69 consults/hab/year) e 2007 (1,05 consults/hab/year);           
-  Change on the upward historic trend in the hospital admissions, after the increase of Family Health Teams;
-  Reduction on hospital admissions per age, on 15,9% between 2005/2007;
-  Reduction on hospital admissions for Sensitive Causes of Primary Care (CSAP), on 24,6% between 2005/2007;

CONCLUSIONS - LESSONS LEARNED      The actions of health promotion and prevention are the main tools of the the Family Health Strategy as a way of, in the long term, increase the quality of life and impact on the health of its population. The reduction in hospital admissions, especially on that with presenting strong impact for preventive actions of Primary Attention, and on the most sensitive age groups (children and the elderly) is a positive quality evaluation on the efforts of expanding the primary attention.