Internações por condições sensíveis à atenção primária no município de Sapucaia do Sul (RS): indicadores de 1998 a 2012

Abstract

According to Shi et al. (1999), Hospitalizations for Sensitive Conditions to Primary Care (ACSC), are a group of diseases subject to effective Primary Health Care (PHC) care, which when performed, reduces or even eliminates the need for hospital admissions. ACSC are an indicator to identify hospitalizations that would be avoidable by this care. PHC can prevent the onset of diseases, and if they are already established, it can correctly manage the condition or chronic disease, preventing its aggravation. ACSC emerged as health effectiveness indicators in North America in the mid-1990s, initially to analyze the indigent population's access to medical care. Billings et al. (1993), when analyzing the impact among users of hospitals in New York, observed that hospital admission rates were higher in low-income areas, as the difficulty in obtaining access to the health system was greater. Rates were lower in higher-income areas, due to earlier and more available outpatient care. Thus, there was an association between lower socioeconomic class and hospital admissions.