Psychiatric hospitalizations by the Unified Health System in Brazil between 2000 and 2014 / Internações psiquiátricas pelo Sistema Único de Saúde no Brasil ocorridas entre 2000 e 2014

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To characterize the profile of patients hospitalized for mental and behavioral disorders by the Unified Health System (SUS) in Brazil between 2000 and 2014, and to verify how aspects of the new mental health policy influenced the rate of hospitalized patients in that period. METHODS Non-concurrent prospective cohort study using secondary data from inpatients with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioral disorders between 01/01/2000 and 12/31/2014. Sociodemographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics variables were selected. Overall rates of hospitalized patients were calculated according to reason for admission, type of hospital, legal nature, and number of admissions per year for each patient. The association between rates of hospitalized patients, number of psychiatric beds per year, and number of Psychosocial Care Centers per year were tested. RESULTS We selected a total of 1,549,298 patients, whose most frequent diagnoses on first admission were psychoactive substance use disorders, followed by schizophrenia and mood disorders. The median of hospitalizations per patient was 1.9 and the length of stay per patient was 29 days. The overall rate of hospitalized patients was reduced by almost half in the period. The number of beds per year was positively associated with the rates of hospitalized patients; the number of CAPS per year was negatively associated with some rates of hospitalized patients. CONCLUSION Even in the face of adversity, the National Mental Health Policy has advanced in its goal of progressively reducing hospital beds and increasing the supply of substitute services such that both strategies were associated with the reduced inpatient rates. But the changes were felt with greater intensity in the first years of the policy's implementation, becoming less pronounced in recent years.

RESUMO OBJETIVO Caracterizar o perfil dos pacientes que foram internados por transtornos mentais e comportamentais pelo Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) no Brasil entre 2000 e 2014, bem como verificar como aspectos da nova política de saúde mental influenciaram a taxa de pacientes internados no referido período. MÉTODOS Estudo de coorte prospectiva não concorrente utilizando dados secundários de pacientes internados com diagnóstico primário de transtornos mentais e comportamentais entre 01/01/2000 e 31/12/2014. Foram selecionadas variáveis sociodemográficas, clínicas e de características do hospital, além disso, foram calculadas as taxas gerais de pacientes internados segundo motivo de internação, tipo de hospital, natureza jurídica e número de internações de cada paciente por ano. Foi testada a associação entre taxas de pacientes internados, número de leitos psiquiátricos por ano e número de Centros de Atenção Psicossocial por ano. RESULTADOS Foram selecionados 1.549.298 pacientes dos quais os diagnósticos mais frequentes na primeira internação foram os transtornos devidos ao uso de substâncias psicoativas, seguidos por esquizofrenia e transtornos de humor. A mediana de internações por paciente foi de 1,9 e a de tempo de internação por paciente foi de 29 dias. A taxa geral de pacientes internados foi reduzida à quase metade no período. O número de leitos por ano apresentou associação positiva com as taxas de pacientes internados, e o número de CAPS por ano teve associação negativa com algumas taxas de pacientes internados. CONCLUSÃO Verificou-se que, mesmo diante de um contexto de adversidades, a Política Nacional de Saúde Mental avançou em suas metas de reduzir progressivamente os leitos hospitalares e aumentar a oferta de serviços substitutivos de tal modo que ambas as estratégias foram associadas à redução das taxas de pacientes internados. Contudo, as mudanças foram percebidas com maior intensidade nos primeiros anos de implantação da política, tornando-se menos pujante nos últimos anos.

Contribution of community health workers to primary health care performance in Brazil

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To associate the strength of community health workers interventions with primary health care strategies for women's and children's health, diabetes, and hypertension. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study assessing 29,778 family health teams working in primary health care in Brazil in 2014. The association between community health workers activity levels and primary health care facilities was analyzed using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS We found higher levels of community health workers activities strongly associated with primary health care practices (OR = 6.88) for those activities targeting hypertension management, followed by children's health (OR = 6.56), and women's health (OR = 6.21). CONCLUSIONS At a time when Brazil discusses whether community health workers should or should not remain in the same scale-up and skill level as they currently are, our results reinforce the importance of these workers for the care model advocated by the Brazilian Unified Health System.