Integrality and Primary Health Care: assessment in the perspective of health services users in the city of São Paulo

Abstract

In the city of São Paulo, the Primary Health Care (PHC) outpatient clinics function based on the models of the Family Health Program (FHP) and Health Program. Both models involve integrality issues. The aim of this study is to assess the integrality achievement in PHC outpatient clinics located in the city of São Paulo, based on users' opinion. The categories were: access to first contact, continuity, coordination, services catalogue, community orientation and family orientation. The two models of services organization at the PHC outpatient clinics in the city were compared using the Portuguese translated version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCATool). The Adapted PCATool was administered to a sample of users of the two PHC models. The main results indicated good performance in the categories of first contact, services catalogue and coordination. Family orientation, community orientation and accessibility received the worst evaluation. Significant differences between the two models involve better medical records, better community-oriented activities, lower number of referrals to specialized care and more adequate working hours in the FHP model. The integrality issues that were best evaluated were those closely related to individual health care, while the issues concerned with services' organization and culture received the worst scores.