Ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations after implementation of the master plan in Minas Gerais.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the rate of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations in groups of cities according to population size and to analyze its association with the coverage of the Family Health Strategy after the implementation of the Master Plan for Primary Health Care in Minas Gerais, Brazil. METHODS: This is an ecological study with 452 cities grouped according to population size, with data from 2004 to 2007 and 2010 to 2013. We used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to verify the distribution of the data in the groups. We used the Wilcoxon test for paired data or the paired Student's t-test to compare the rate of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations before and after the Master Plan for Primary Health Care. We used the simple linear regression test to analyze the association between variables. We performed statistical analyses using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, with a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: The rate of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations decreased significantly after the Master Plan for Primary Health Care in the large and mid-sized groups (p < 0.05). There were positive correlations between coverage with Family Health Strategy and the rate of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations in the mid-sized and large groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Actions were carried out to implement the Master Plan for Primary Health Care. However, more investments are needed to improve the effectiveness of the Primary Health Care, with permanent confrontation of complex issues that affect the quality of services, which can lead to a significant reduction of the rates of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations.

Ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations after implementation of the master plan in Minas Gerais / Internações sensíveis à atenção primária após implantação do Plano Diretor em Minas Gerais

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To describe the rate of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations in groups of cities according to population size and to analyze its association with the coverage of the Family Health Strategy after the implementation of the Master Plan for Primary Health Care in Minas Gerais, Brazil. METHODS This is an ecological study with 452 cities grouped according to population size, with data from 2004 to 2007 and 2010 to 2013. We used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to verify the distribution of the data in the groups. We used the Wilcoxon test for paired data or the paired Student's t-test to compare the rate of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations before and after the Master Plan for Primary Health Care. We used the simple linear regression test to analyze the association between variables. We performed statistical analyses using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, with a significance level of 5%. RESULTS The rate of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations decreased significantly after the Master Plan for Primary Health Care in the large and mid-sized groups (p < 0.05). There were positive correlations between coverage with Family Health Strategy and the rate of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations in the mid-sized and large groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Actions were carried out to implement the Master Plan for Primary Health Care. However, more investments are needed to improve the effectiveness of the Primary Health Care, with permanent confrontation of complex issues that affect the quality of services, which can lead to a significant reduction of the rates of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations.

RESUMO OBJETIVO Descrever a taxa de internação por condição sensível à atenção primária à saúde em grupos de municípios conforme o porte populacional e analisar sua associação com a cobertura pela Estratégia Saúde da Família após a implantação do Plano Diretor da Atenção Primária à Saúde em Minas Gerais. MÉTODOS Estudo ecológico com agrupamento de 452 municípios segundo o porte populacional, comparando dados de 2004 a 2007 e 2010 a 2013. O teste de Kolmogorov Smirnov foi utilizado para verificar a distribuição dos dados nos grupos. O teste de Wilcoxon para dados pareados ou teste t Student pareado foi usado para comparação da taxa de internação por condição sensível à atenção primária à saúde antes e após o Plano Diretor da Atenção Primária à Saúde. O teste de regressão linear simples foi utilizado para analisar a associação entre as variáveis. Foram realizadas análises estatísticas pelo Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, com nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS A taxa de internação por condição sensível à atenção primária à saúde diminuiu significativamente após o Plano Diretor da Atenção Primária à Saúde no grupo com grande e médio porte populacional (p < 0,05). Houve correlações positivas entre a cobertura com Estratégia Saúde da Família e a taxa de internação por condição sensível à atenção primária à saúde nos grupos com porte populacional médio e grande (p < 0,05). CONCLUSÕES Foram empreendidos esforços com a implantação do Plano Diretor da Atenção Primária à Saúde. Entretanto, é preciso que mais investimentos sejam realizados para contribuir para a melhoria da efetividade da Atenção Primária à Saúde, com enfrentamento permanente de questões complexas que incidem sobre a qualidade dos serviços, gerando redução significativa das taxas de internação por condição sensível à atenção primária à saúde.