Humanization in primary health care from the viewpoint of elderly

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the perception of the elderly population on how humanized is primary health care, focusing on aspects of outpatient services that affect the quality of care. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study was performed, covering all units offering primary health care in a city in the state of São Paulo, by means of interviews targeted at the elderly who attend these units. The instrument used was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) that proposed the concept of responsiveness searching for greater objectivity in the assessment of healthcare quality. This concept refers to the elements that are not directly linked to the health status, but those involved in the friendly and decisive service with responsibility and bonding. The areas of responsiveness were: prompt attention, dignity, communication, autonomy, option of professionals, confidentiality and physical structure and comfort. The results were analyzed at the Epi Info 3.5.2 software. It was found that some areas of health care, highly valued by older people, had lower performance, for instance: Autonomy, where only 54.4% were free to make decisions about his/her health or treatment, and Communication, in which 67.6% did not obtain information on other types of treatments or tests and 79.2% had no opportunity for clarification regarding questions about their treatments. It is suggested, therefore, that changes should be made in services provided by primary healthcare units, especially when it comes to seniors, a special population that needs to receive a special service.