Health assessment: processual and structural dimension of child health in primary care

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to assess the attributes of the procedural and structural dimensions of primary health care in two models of health care. This is a quantitative study carried out with secondary data of a multicenter primary study with caregivers of children in family health units and traditional primary care units of two medium-sized Brazilian municipalities, whose data collection took place in 2012 and 2013. The Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCATool-Brazil) children version was used to assess the effectiveness of the models. Inferential statistical analysis was made. In the evaluation of the essential attributes the mean score was equal to or higher than expected (6,6) and the overall score was below (6,4). From the perspective of the caregiver of the child, the two models of care are oriented to primary care only in the essential attributes, although, not in the general score. The weaknesses and potentialities of care models indicate the need for changes in the organization of services to include comprehensive childcare.