Estudio de familia en Atención Primaria: construcción y validación de una herramienta para la valoración familiar / Development of a tool to conduct family studies in primary health care

Background: The Family and Community Health Model (MAIS) establishes the continuity of care as an essential principle. The Family Study, as a clinical strategy, allows to have sufficient and timely information and knowledge about users of health care services, facilitates their accompaniment and is a source of information to improve the quality of care and the management of health centers. Aim: To develop a tool to conduct family studies, devised by experts in Primary Health Care. Material and Methods: Using a qualitative method, an electronic Delphi was conducted on 24 experts on primary health care. Afterwards, the content validation was carried out with the participation of judges. Results: The resulting tool considers two levels of family assessment. It allows to distinguish those families that would benefit from interventions of greater complexity than those derived from the usual care of health centers. Conclusions: The tool to perform family studies responds to the informational and continuity component of Continuity of Patient Care principle. It may be a proposal for the continuous improvement of Chilean primary care.

Principios orientadores del Modelo Integral de Salud Familiar y Comunitario desde la perspectiva de los usuarios / Perception of users about an Integral Model of Family and Community Health care in Santiago, Chile

Background: The integral Model of Family and Community Health care is based on three essential principles: patient centered care, comprehensive care and continuity of care. Aim: To know the perception of primary care clinic users about the elements that should be considered in a patient centered integrated health care. Material and Methods: Ten males and 31 females aged 18 to 78 years, users of two public family primary care centers participated in focus groups, which were recorded. A qualitative descriptive research design based on content analysis according to Krippendorf was done. Results: Seven issues emerged from the description of patients' experiences: professional-patient relationship, fragmentation of care, continued care with the same professional, promotion and prevention, availability of services and patient records. Conclusions: There are difficulties to install an integral model of family and community health care. The concerns raised by participants should be considered in order to modify the design of these models.

Acceso a colecistectomía en un programa de tamizaje ecográfico de colelitiasis en centros de medicina familiar / Access to cholecystectomy among patients attended at primary family health centers

Background: Cholelithiasis (CL) represents a major health burden in Chile, with rates of cholecystectomy (CCT) of ~40.000 per year. The explicit health care guaranties (GES) program includes prioritized CCT for CL carriers between 35 and 49 years of age. Aim: To assess the access and opportunity of CCT in a screening program of CL in Family Medicine Centers, according to the age of the patients. Material and Methods: A systematic ultrasound screening program of CL was developed in Family Medicine Centers ANCORA-UC between March 2009 and March 2013 during which 1.450 individuals were assessed, (80% women) and 281 were identified as having CL (19.4%). After a minimum follow up interval of six months, patients with CL were contacted and surveyed by phone. They were categorized as being beneficiaries of the GES program (those aged between 35 to 49 years) or not (those aged < 35 o > 49 years). Results: Two hundred thirteen patients were contacted (76%), 81 beneficiaries of the program and 132 non-beneficiaries. The attending physician indicated CCT to 191 patients (89.6%). During a mean follow-up time of 641 days/person, 100 patients had CCT, 11% of which were emergency interventions due to complications. A greater proportion of program beneficiaries than non-beneficiaries had an elective CCT (74 and 21% respectively). The waiting interval for elective CCT was longer in non-beneficiaries compared with beneficiaries (340 ± 247 and 229 ± 201 days respectively). Only 46% of the elective CCT in GES patients were done within deadlines determined by the program (≤ 150 days). Conclusions: The age of patients at the moment of CL diagnosis conditions the access and opportunity to CCT. Beneficiaries of the explicit health care guaranties program have higher rates of cholecystectomy with less waiting time.