Characteristics of house calls in Brazil: analysis of PMAQ-AB external evaluation cycles.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze characteristics of the home visit (HV) in Brazil, 2012 and 2017. METHODS: Ecological study, with panel data whose units of analysis were the Primary Health Care teams in Brazil, participants of the 1st and 3rd cycles of the Program to Improve Access and Quality of Primary Care of the Unified Health System. Descriptive, inferential and spatial analyzes (alpha=5%) were performed. RESULTS: There was an increase in the proportion of teams that carried out home visits at a frequency defined based on risk and vulnerability analysis and actively searched for people with respiratory symptoms and women with delayed and altered cytopathological examination. In the heat maps, the Northeast, Southeast and South regions had a higher concentration of teams that carried out the HV and carried out an active search. CONCLUSION: The maintenance and qualification of HVs must be a priority in Brazil, since there are few countries in the world with such capillarity of health services, reaching the homes of millions of people.

Characteristics of house calls in Brazil: analysis of PMAQ-AB external evaluation cycles / Características da visita domiciliar no Brasil: análise de ciclos de avaliação externa do PMAQ-AB

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze characteristics of the home visit (HV) in Brazil, 2012 and 2017. Methods: Ecological study, with panel data whose units of analysis were the Primary Health Care teams in Brazil, participants of the 1st and 3rd cycles of the Program to Improve Access and Quality of Primary Care of the Unified Health System. Descriptive, inferential and spatial analyzes (alpha=5%) were performed. Results: There was an increase in the proportion of teams that carried out home visits at a frequency defined based on risk and vulnerability analysis and actively searched for people with respiratory symptoms and women with delayed and altered cytopathological examination. In the heat maps, the Northeast, Southeast and South regions had a higher concentration of teams that carried out the HV and carried out an active search. Conclusion: The maintenance and qualification of HVs must be a priority in Brazil, since there are few countries in the world with such capillarity of health services, reaching the homes of millions of people.

RESUMO Objetivo: Analisar características da visita domiciliar (VD) no Brasil em 2012 e 2017. Métodos: Estudo ecológico com dados em painel cujas unidades de análise foram as equipes de saúde da Atenção Primária à Saúde no Brasil, participantes do 1º e 3º ciclos do Programa de Melhoria do Acesso e Qualidade da Atenção Básica do Sistema Único de Saúde. Foram realizadas análises descritivas, inferenciais e espaciais (alpha=5%). Resultados: Houve aumento na proporção de equipes que realizavam visita domiciliar com periodicidade definida a partir da análise de risco e vulnerabilidade e na de busca ativa de pessoas com sintomáticos respiratórios e de mulheres com exame citopatológico atrasado e alterado. Nordeste, Sudeste e Sul foram as regiões com maior concentração de equipes que realizavam a VD e faziam busca ativa. Conclusão: A manutenção e qualificação das VD deve ser uma prioridade no Brasil, uma vez que poucos são os países no mundo com tamanha capilaridade dos serviços de saúde, alcançando os domicílios de milhões de pessoas.