Abstract
Introduction and objective: A public healthcare system was recently developed in Brazil. Providing universal healthcare for 206 million inhabitants is challenging. This study explores patient experiences of healthcare services in Brazil.
Methods: The National Health Survey, Brazil 2013 data for 60,202 adults who responded to the individual questionnaire was used to explore feeling discriminated against by healthcare professionals. Factors associated with discrimination were analysed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Data for 44,001 persons who reported their last medical consultation experience was analysed. Primary care consultation characteristics and patient satisfaction rates are reported.
Results and conclusions: 10.6% (95%CI 10.1-11.1) of the total sample experienced feeling discriminated against by healthcare professionals. Female gender, age 25-44/65-84 years, having a chronic disease, other than white skin, increasing days with disability and numbers of medical consultations were positively associated with likelihood of feeling discriminated. Opposite associations were found for living in the Northeast/Southeast, having superior education and private healthcare plan. 33.5% of the sample had their last consultation at primary care units, main motives being periodic medical examination (42.5%), disease or other healthcare problem (27.7%) and continued treatment /therapy (16.9%). On average, patients waited 81 minutes for a consultation. An average consultation length was 24 minutes. 43.0% of patients rated the healthcare received for time spent waiting as “good”. The majority of patients rated the service quality as “good” (doctor’s attitude: 69.4%, doctor’s skills: 67.9%, clarity of explanations: 64.6%, time for asking questions: 61.8%). Our findings indicate areas for improvement in Brazilian primary care services.
Methods: The National Health Survey, Brazil 2013 data for 60,202 adults who responded to the individual questionnaire was used to explore feeling discriminated against by healthcare professionals. Factors associated with discrimination were analysed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Data for 44,001 persons who reported their last medical consultation experience was analysed. Primary care consultation characteristics and patient satisfaction rates are reported.
Results and conclusions: 10.6% (95%CI 10.1-11.1) of the total sample experienced feeling discriminated against by healthcare professionals. Female gender, age 25-44/65-84 years, having a chronic disease, other than white skin, increasing days with disability and numbers of medical consultations were positively associated with likelihood of feeling discriminated. Opposite associations were found for living in the Northeast/Southeast, having superior education and private healthcare plan. 33.5% of the sample had their last consultation at primary care units, main motives being periodic medical examination (42.5%), disease or other healthcare problem (27.7%) and continued treatment /therapy (16.9%). On average, patients waited 81 minutes for a consultation. An average consultation length was 24 minutes. 43.0% of patients rated the healthcare received for time spent waiting as “good”. The majority of patients rated the service quality as “good” (doctor’s attitude: 69.4%, doctor’s skills: 67.9%, clarity of explanations: 64.6%, time for asking questions: 61.8%). Our findings indicate areas for improvement in Brazilian primary care services.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| Event | Worldwide Family Medicine Community Conference - Riocentro, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Duration: 2 Nov 2016 → 6 Nov 2016 Conference number: 21 http://wonca2016.com/ingles/index.php |
Conference
| Conference | Worldwide Family Medicine Community Conference |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Brazil |
| City | Rio De Janeiro |
| Period | 2/11/16 → 6/11/16 |
| Internet address |