Evaluation of the primary care for chronic diseases in the high coverage context of the Family Health Strategy

Economic burden for the Unified Health System attributable to excessive sodium consumption in Brazil

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to estimate the economic costs of excessive sodium consumption in terms of hospitalizations and outpatient procedures of medium and high complexity (OPMHC) for the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and its states in 2019.

STUDY DESIGN

Ecological study.

METHOD

This study used population attributable fractions (PAFs) of excessive sodium consumption estimated by the Global Burden of Disease study based on the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (3 g of sodium per day), the average population consumption, and relative risks of sodium-outcome pairs. PAFs were applied to the total costs of hospitalizations and OPMHC paid by SUS for each outcome obtained from the Outpatient and Hospital Information Systems. The costs per 10,000 inhabitants in all the Brazilian states were calculated and converted into international dollars (Int$), considering the purchasing parity power in the year 2019.

RESULTS

Excessive sodium consumption resulted in Int$ 98,882,386.36 (95% uncertainty interval: Int$ 3,398,343.53-312,065,319.80) in hospitalizations and OPMHC costs in Brazil in 2019. Males and the 55- to 69-year-old age group had the highest expenditures attributable to excessive sodium consumption. Cardiovascular diseases were the most significant contributors to the costs associated with the risk factor. Southern and southeastern states had the highest costs of diseases attributable to sodium.

CONCLUSION

Excessive sodium consumption has a significant economic burden on SUS, particularly among men and more developed states. This underscores the inequalities in socio-economic factors and access to health services throughout the country. Economic analyses at the subnational level can provide evidence for public policy planning to define the most appropriate actions for the population's sociodemographic reality.

The impacts of COVID-19 hospitalizations on non-COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations: A panel data analysis using Brazilian municipalities

The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil has brought many challenges, particularly regarding the management of hospital capacity, and a new demand for healthcare that added to the preexisting demands, such as neoplasms, cardiovascular diseases and births. In this paper, we estimate the impact of the pandemic on the number of deaths and hospitalizations for other diseases. We construct a monthly panel data of deaths and hospitalizations for various causes by the municipality of residence and relate them to COVID-19 hospitalizations using regression models that control for municipalities fixed-effects and interactions between State and month fixed-effects. The standard errors are clustered at the municipality level. Our estimates imply that 100 more hospitalizations by COVID-19 is associated with a drop of 49 non-COVID-19 hospitalizations and an additional four deaths for other reasons (all measured per 100,000 pop.). The impact of intensive care units COVID-19 hospitalizations on mortality is larger. The groups most affected are the African Brazilians, less-educated and the elderly. Additional deaths occurred both at households and at hospitals. The main causes of additional deaths were diseases related to the circulatory and endocrine system. The decline in hospitalizations for other causes seems to be related to the overcrowding of hospitals in periods of surge in the COVID-19, alongside with the fall in the demand for care by the citizens who were afraid of COVID-19 infection. These mechanisms affected more strongly the vulnerable groups of the population. Our results highlight the importance of promoting the awareness of heightened risk of non-communicable chronic diseases during a health emergency context. This should be done preferably through already established channels with community outreach, such as the Family Health Program in Brazil.

Assessing statins use in a real-world primary care digital strategy: a cross-sectional analysis of a population-wide digital health approach

Background

The digitization of the primary care system provides an opportunity to evaluate the current use of statins in secondary prevention populations (myocardial infarction or stroke).

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05285085), analysing anonymised data routinely collected by community health workers (CHW) in Brazil between May 2016 and September 2021 to assess the proportion of self-reported statins use and associated factors.

Findings

From the 2,133,900 individuals on the database, 35,103 (1.6%), mean age 66.2 years (SD14.6), 49.5% (17,382/35,103) male sex, 50.5% (17,721/35,103) female sex, and 29.6% (10,381/34,975) Caucasians, had a previous myocardial infarction (MI) (n = 11,628; 33.1%) or stroke (n = 25,925; 73.9%). Approximately 50% (17,020/35,103) were from the Northeast region, 78.7% (27,605) from urban zones, and 39.4% (13,845) with social development index (SDI) >0.7. Overall, 6.7% (2346) and 0.6% (212) reported statins and high dose statins use, respectively. Age over 60 years old (OR 1.32 [95% CI 1.19-1.47), living in the Southern region (OR 4.53 [95% CI 3.66-5.60]), having a previous diagnosis of MI (OR 4.53 [95% CI 3.66-5.60]), heart failure (OR 2.29 [95% CI 1.13-1.47]), diabetes (OR 1.50 [95% CI 1.37-1.64]), dyslipidaemia (OR 2.90 [95% CI 2.55-3.29]), chronic kidney disease (OR 1.27 [95% CI 1.08-1.48]) and use of anti-hypertensives (OR 5.47 [95% CI 4.60-6.47]) were associated with statin use.

Interpretation

The analysis of a real-world database from a digitized primary care system, allowed us to identify a very low use of statins in secondary prevention Brazilian patients, mostly influenced by socio-demographic factors and co-morbidities.

Funding

Novartis Biociências, Brazil.

Behavioral deviations: healthcare-seeking behavior of chronic disease patients with intention to visit primary health care institutions

BACKGROUND

Although primary health care (PHC) has been proven to be effective in preventing and treating chronic diseases, the visits rate of PHC institutions is still not ideal. Some patients initially express a willingness to visit PHC institutions but end up seeking health services at non-PHC institutions, and the reasons for this behavior remain unclear. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the factors that contribute to behavioral deviations among chronic disease patients who originally intended to visit PHC institutions.

METHODS

Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey among chronic disease patients with original intention to visit PHC institutions in Fuqing City, China. The analysis framework was guided by Andersen's behavioral model. Logistic regression models were employed to analyze the factors affecting the behavioral deviations among chronic disease patients with a willingness to visit PHC institutions.

RESULTS

A total of 1,048 individuals were finally included and about 40% of the participants with the original willingness to seek care from PHC institutions finally chose non-PHC institutions in their subsequent visits. The results of logistic regression analyses indicated that at the predisposition factor level, older participants (aOR_60-69 = 0.602, P < 0.01; aOR_70-75 = 0.475, P < 0.01) were less likely to have behavioral deviations. At the enabling factor level, compared to those covered by Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) and not reimbursed, those covered by Urban-Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URRBMI) (aOR = 0.297, P < 0.01), and those answering that reimbursement from medical institutions was convenient (aOR = 0.501, P < 0.01) or very convenient (aOR = 0.358, P < 0.001) were less likely to have behavioral deviations. At the need factor level, participants who visited PHC institutions due to illness last year (aOR = 0.348, P < 0.001) and with polypharmacy (aOR = 0.546, P < 0.01) were less likely to have behavioral deviations compared to those without the visit of PHC institutions and not taking polypharmacy, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The deviations between the original willingness of PHC institution visits and subsequent behavior among chronic disease patients were associated with a number of predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Developing the health insurance system, strengthening the technical capacity of PHC institutions, and steadily developing a new concept of orderly healthcare-seeking behavior among chronic disease patients, will help promote their access to PHC institutions as well as improve the effectiveness of the tiered medical system for chronic disease care.

Mortalidade de idosos por causas sensíveis e cobertura de Atenção Primária no Distrito Federal

RESUMO Objetivos: Descrever os coeficientes de mortalidade entre idosos por condições sensíveis, de 2008 a 2018, e verificar a associação com a cobertura da Atenção Primária à Saúde (Modelo Estratégia Saúde da Família e Atenção Básica) no Distrito Federal. Métodos: Estudo ecológico tipo série temporal da mortalidade dos idosos no Distrito Federal, entre 2008 e 2018. Para análise das associações, aplicou se o modelo de regressão Poisson, sendo consideradas significantes as que apresentaram p<0,05, com IC de 95%. Resultados: Houve70.503 óbitos. Observou-se diminuição do risco de morrer dos idosos por doenças cardiovasculares e diabetes. A cobertura da Atenção Primária diminuiu a chance de morrer por condições sensíveis tanto na Atenção Básica (OR: 0,994, IC: 0,990-0,998) quanto na Estratégia Saúde da Família (OR: 0,997, IC: 0,995-0,999). Conclusões: A cobertura de Atenção Primária foi associada a menor chance de morrer dos idosos por condições sensíveis à Atenção Primária, sobretudo na Atenção Básica.

Elderly Mortality due to Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions and Primary Health Care Coverage in the Federal District

OBJECTIVES

To describe the mortality coefficients of elderly due to primary care sensitive conditions, from 2008 to 2018, and determine its association with the coverage of the Primary Health Care (Family Health Strategy and Basic Care models) in the Federal District.

METHODS

Ecological time series of mortality in Federal District elderly, from 2008 to 2018. The Poisson regression model was applied, considering as significant those with p<0.05, with a CI of 95%.

RESULTS

There were 70,503 deaths. There was a decrease in the risk of death of elders due to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Higher primary care coverage decreased the chance of death by sensitive conditions, both in Basic Care (OR: 0.994, CI: 0.990-0.998) and in the Family Health Strategy (OR: 0.997, CI: 0.995-0.999).

CONCLUSIONS

Primary Care coverage was associated with a lower chance of death of the elderly due to Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions, especially in Basic Care.

Socioeconomic inequalities in the quality of primary care under Brazil's national pay-for-performance programme: a longitudinal study of family health teams

Background

Many governments have introduced pay-for-performance programmes to incentivise health providers to improve quality of care. Evidence on whether these programmes reduce or exacerbate disparities in health care is scarce. In this study, we aimed to assess socioeconomic inequalities in the performance of family health teams under Brazil's National Programme for Improving Primary Care Access and Quality (PMAQ).

Methods

For this longitudinal study, we analysed data on the quality of care delivered by family health teams participating in PMAQ over three rounds of implementation: round 1 (November, 2011, to March, 2013), round 2 (April, 2013, to September, 2015), and round 3 (October, 2015, to December, 2019). The primary outcome was the percentage of the maximum performance score obtainable by family health teams (the PMAQ score), based on several hundred (ranging from 598 to 914) indicators of health-care delivery. Using census data on household income of local areas, we examined the PMAQ score by income ventile. We used ordinary least squares regressions to examine the association between PMAQ scores and the income of each local area across implementation rounds, and we did an analysis of variance to assess geographical variation in PMAQ score.

Findings

Of the 40 361 family health teams that were registered as ever participating in PMAQ, we included 13 934 teams that participated in the three rounds of PMAQ in our analysis. These teams were located in 11 472 census areas and served approximately 48 million people. The mean PMAQ score was 61·0% (median 61·8, IQR 55·3–67·9) in round 1, 55·3% (median 56·0, IQR 47·6–63·4) in round 2, and 61·6% (median 62·7, IQR 54·4–69·9) in round 3. In round 1, we observed a positive socioeconomic gradient, with the mean PMAQ score ranging from 56·6% in the poorest group to 64·1% in the richest group. Between rounds 1 and 3, mean PMAQ performance increased by 7·1 percentage points for the poorest group and decreased by 0·8 percentage points for the richest group (p<0·0001), with the gap between richest and poorest narrowing from 7·5 percentage points (95% CI 6·5 to 8·5) to –0·4 percentage points over the same period (–1·6 to 0·8).

Interpretation

Existing income inequalities in the delivery of primary health care were eliminated during the three rounds of PMAQ, plausibly due to a design feature of PMAQ that adjusted financial payments for socioeconomic inequalities. However, there remains an important policy agenda in Brazil to address the large inequities in health.

Funding

UK Medical Research Council, Newton Fund, and CONFAP (Conselho Nacional das Fundações Estaduais de Amparo à Pesquisa).

Performance of family health teams for tackling chronic diseases in a state of the Amazon

The most common cause of death worldwide is noncommunicable diseases. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the adequacy of the work process among family health teams and compare differences in regional adequacy in the state of Tocantins, in the Amazonian Region, Brazil. Categorical principal components analysis was used, and scores of each principal component extracted in the analysis were compared among health regions in Tocantins. A post hoc analysis was performed to compare the heath region pairs. The adequacy of family health teams’ work process was evaluated with respect to the Strategic Action Plan to Tackle NCDs. The results showed that the family health teams performed actions according to the Strategic Action Plan to Tackle NCDs. However, overall, the adequacy percentages of these actions according to the axes of the Plan are very uneven in Tocantins, with large variations among health regions. The family health teams in the Bico do Papagaio (Region 1), Médio Norte Araguaia (Region 2), Cantão (Region 4) and Capim Dourado (Region 5) regions have adequacy percentages ≥ 50% with the Strategic Action Plan to Tackle NCDs, whereas all other regions have percentages <50%. Health teams perform surveillance actions, health promotion, and comprehensive care for NCDs in accordance with the guidelines of the Strategic Action Plan to Tackle NCDs. The challenge of NCDs in primary care requires a care model that is tailored to users’ needs and has the power to reduce premature mortality and its determinants.