The article entitled Inequalities in the use of health services in a municipality in Southern Brazil in 2019: a cross-sectional study analyzes data from a survey carried out among people over 18 years old, living in the urban area of the municipality of Criciúma, in the state of Santa Catarina. The interviews were carried out between March and December 2019 and enabled assessment of inequalities in the use of health services there. The study analyzed use of the following health services, according to service user age, education and income: medical consultation, dental consultation, nutritional guidance and use of the Brazilian National Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS).
The authors of the article are part of the Health Sciences and Collective Health Postgraduate Programs at the Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, and the data they used was taken from the first population-based survey carried out in the municipality, called “Saúde da População Criciumense” (Health of Criciúma’s Population), which aims to assess the health of the population and associated factors.
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In the publication, inequalities were assessed used the Slope Index of Inequality (SII), which estimates the difference in the prevalence of outcomes between people at the top and at the bottom of socioeconomic groups. This is expressed in percentage points and interpreted from the context. Positive index values indicate higher prevalence of the outcome in the more favored group, while negative values indicate higher prevalence of the outcome in the less favored group.
The assessment of 820 eligible individuals indicated that medical consultations were more frequent among the elderly, while dental consultations were less frequent in this population group, compared to young people. Also, dental consultations and nutritional guidance were more frequent in people with more schooling. The article also highlighted that use of the SUS was more frequent among the elderly and those with less schooling and lower income.
As such, based on evidence of the influence of socioeconomic inequalities on the profile of use of health services, the authors emphasize the importance of developing interdisciplinary health care actions, aimed at expanding access to multidisciplinary services and targeting health policies towards groups most at risk of inequalities. They also point out that health care based on SUS horizontality, reinforced through continuing education for health professionals, as well as the existence of health service management that is attentive to the needs of its territory, can contribute to health promotion in this scenario.
References
SILVA, I.C.M, et al. Mensuração de desigualdades sociais em saúde: conceitos e abordagens metodológicas no contexto brasileiro. Epidemiol Serv Saude [online]. 2018, vol. 27, no. 1, e000100017 [viewed 13 July 2023]. https://doi.org/10.5123/S1679-49742018000100017. Available from: https://www.scielo.br/j/ress/a/6PC8rqBSF4mwB7dsKT35vfH/
To read the article, access
QUADRA, M.R., SHÄFER, A.A. and MELLER, F.O. Desigualdades no uso dos serviços de saúde em um município no Sul do Brasil em 2019: estudo transversal. Epidemiol. Serv. Saúde [online]. 2023, vol. 32, no. 1, e2022437 [viewed 13 July 2023]. https://doi.org/10.1590/S2237-96222023000100025. Available from: https://www.scielo.br/j/ress/a/hbXZZpM5qmdnGb3Hz6LxK4r/
External links
Journal Epidemiology and Health Services – RESS: https://www.scielo.br/ress
Journal Epidemiology and Health Services – Website: http://ress.iec.gov.br/
Article published on the Journal Epidemiology and Health Services website: https://ress.iec.gov.br/p/artigo/1518
Article published on the SciELO Public Health website: https://scielosp.org/article/ress/2023.v32n1/e2022437/pt/
Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense (UNESC) – Website: https://www.unesc.net/
UNESC Programa de Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva: https://www.unesc.net/programa-de-pos-graduacao-em-saude-coletiva