Family Health Support Center: Impact on Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions

ABSTRACT The Family Health Strategy is the preferred admittance of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and relies on Family Health Support Centers (FHSC) to reduce referrals to secondary care, as it seeks to reduce Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC). This study analyzed the growth of FHSC and its impact on the number of ACSC. This is an exploratory, descriptive and quantitative study, conducted between 1998 and 2016, based on the database of the Department of Primary Care of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). An expansion of the family health teams all over Brazil was identified: 40,490 teams were established in 5,483 municipalities, covering 64.2% of the population. The number of FHSC at the Northeast and the population coverage was higher in relation to other regions. The highest decrease of ACSC occurred in the Midwest, which has a minor number of FHSC established. The Northeast had the highest number and coverage of FHSC; however, a proportional reduction of ACSC did not happen. The largest number or FHSC coverage has still not influenced the reduction rate of ACSC in the most vulnerable populations within the context of social determinants.