Avaliação do acesso e utilização da atenção primária em saúde pela população masculina

Abstract

Issues related to men's health have stimulated the interest of researchers. It is observed that although primary care is considered the gateway to other levels of care, the search for men by the health service happens very rarely. The objective of this study was to evaluate the access and utilization of primary care by the male population in Campina Grande / PB. This is a cross-sectional, analytical study with a quantitative approach, carried out at the basic health units of Campina Grande / PB, Brazil. A total of 384 men participated in the study. The inclusion criteria were age between 20 and 59 years, the age recommended by the National Policy for Integral Attention to Human Health, and to be assigned to the basic health units of the Campina Grande family for at least six months. Data collection was performed through the Primary Care Assessment Tool, the Pcatool - Brazil adult version that assesses the attributes of primary health care. To analyze the data, a database was created in the Excel program, and later transferred to the SPSS 20.0 program for statistical analysis. The results show an association between the use of the service and age (p=0.02), income (p=0.036), creed (p=0.018) and knowledge of the National Health Policy for Man (p= 0.007). First contact (use and accessibility) obtained a score of 5.79 and 2.7, respectively, and this attribute is considered by the users to be less oriented to primary care. It is concluded that men still do not perceive primary care as a gateway, and that efforts must be made to ensure, above all, access first, making the man perceive the service and make use of.