ABSTRACT
The study analyzed how socioeconomic factors are associated with seeking, access, use, and quality of health care services in São Paulo, Brazil. Data were obtained from two household health surveys in São Paulo. We used logistic regression to analyze associations between socioeconomic factors and seeking, access, use, and quality of health care services. Access to health care services was high among those who sought it (94.91% in 2003 and 94.98% in 2008). The proportion of access to and use of health care services did not change significantly from 2003 to 2008. Use of services in the public sector was more frequent in lower socioeconomic groups. There were some socioeconomic differences in seeking health care and resolution of health problems. The study showed almost universal access to health care services, but the results suggest problems in quality of services and differences in quality experienced by lower socioeconomic groups, who mostly use the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS).
Subject(s)
Health Equity/statistics & numerical data , Health Services Accessibility/statistics & numerical data , Health Services/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Adult , Brazil , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Middle Aged , National Health Programs , Public Sector , Socioeconomic Factors , Urban Population , Young AdultABSTRACT
Abstract: The study analyzed how socioeconomic factors are associated with seeking, access, use, and quality of health care services in São Paulo, Brazil. Data were obtained from two household health surveys in São Paulo. We used logistic regression to analyze associations between socioeconomic factors and seeking, access, use, and quality of health care services. Access to health care services was high among those who sought it (94.91% in 2003 and 94.98% in 2008). The proportion of access to and use of health care services did not change significantly from 2003 to 2008. Use of services in the public sector was more frequent in lower socioeconomic groups. There were some socioeconomic differences in seeking health care and resolution of health problems. The study showed almost universal access to health care services, but the results suggest problems in quality of services and differences in quality experienced by lower socioeconomic groups, who mostly use the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS).
Resumo: O estudo analisou os fatores socioeconômicos associados à procura, acesso, uso e qualidade dos serviços de assistência à saúde em São Paulo, Brasil. Os dados foram obtidos a partir de dois inquéritos domiciliares de saúde em São Paulo. A regressão logística foi utilizada para analisar as associações entre fatores socioeconômicos e a procura, acesso, uso e qualidade dos serviços de assistência à saúde. O acesso aos serviços de assistência à saúde era alto entre aqueles que procuravam (94,91% em 2003 e 94,98% em 2008). A proporção de acesso e uso dos serviços de assistência à saúde não mudou de maneira significativa entre 2003 e 2008. O use de serviços no setor público era mais frequente nos extratos socioeconômicos mais baixos. Houve algumas diferenças na procura de assistência e na resolução dos problemas de saúde. O estudo mostrou acesso quase universal aos serviços de assistência à saúde, mas os resultados sugerem problemas na qualidade dos serviços e diferenças na qualidade vivenciada pelos grupos socioeconômicos mais baixos, a maioria dos quais utilizavam o Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS).
Resumen: El estudio analizó los factores socioeconómicos asociados a la búsqueda, acceso, uso y calidad de los servicios de asistencia a la salud en São Paulo, Brasil. Los datos fueron obtenidos a partir de dos encuestas domiciliarias de salud en São Paulo. La regresión logística se utilizó para analizar las asociaciones entre factores socioeconómicos y la búsqueda, acceso, uso y calidad de los servicios de asistencia a la salud. El acceso a los servicios de asistencia a la salud era alto entre aquellos que lo buscaban (94,91% en 2003 y 94,98% en 2008). La proporción de acceso y uso de los servicios de asistencia a la salud no se vio modificado de manera significativa entre 2003 y 2008. El uso de servicios en el sector público era más frecuente en los estratos socioeconómicos más bajos. Hubo algunas diferencias en la búsqueda de asistencia y en la resolución de los problemas de salud. El estudio mostró un acceso casi universal a los servicios de asistencia a la salud, pero los resultados sugieren problemas en la calidad de los servicios y diferencias en la calidad experimentada por los grupos socioeconómicos más bajos, la mayoría de los cuales utilizaban el Sistema Único de Salud (SUS).
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Infant , Child, Preschool , Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Health Equity/statistics & numerical data , Health Services , Health Services Accessibility/statistics & numerical data , Socioeconomic Factors , Urban Population , Brazil , Public Sector , National Health ProgramsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Access to, and use of, dental health services in Brazil have improved since 2003. The increase of private health care plans and the implementation of the "Smiling Brazil" Program, the largest public oral health care program in the world, could have influenced this increase in access. However, we do not yet know if inequalities in the use of dental health services persist after the improvement in access. The aims of this study are to analyze socioeconomic differences for dental health service use between 2003 and 2008 in São Paulo and to examine changes in these associations since the implementation of the Smiling Brazil program in 2003. METHOD: Data was obtained via two household health surveys (ISA-Capital 2003 and ISA-Capital 2008) which investigated living conditions, lifestyle, health status and use of health care services. Logistic regression was used to analyze associations between socioeconomic factors and dental services use. Additionally, trends from 2003 to 2008 regarding socioeconomic characteristics and dental health service use were explored. RESULTS: Overall, dental health service use increased between 2003 and 2008 and was at both time points more common among those who had higher income, better education, better housing conditions, private health care plans and were Caucasian. Inequalities in use of dental health care did not decrease over time. Among the reasons for not seeking dental care, not having teeth and financial difficulty were more common in lower socioeconomic groups, while thinking it was unnecessary was more common in higher socioeconomic groups. CONCLUSIONS: The Brazilian oral health policy is still in a period of expansion and seems to have contributed slightly to increased dental health service use, but has not influenced socioeconomic inequalities in the use of these services. Acquiring deeper knowledge about inequalities in dental health service use will contribute to better understanding of potential barriers to reducing them.