Acesso aos serviços de atenção primária à saúde por adolescentes e jovens em um município do Estado da Bahia, Brasil

Abstract

The study sought to analyze the association between adolescents and young adults' access to primary health care services and Family Health Strategy (FHS) services. It is a cross-sectional study based on a household survey of 812 individuals aged between 15 and 24 years in Camaçari, Bahia State, Brazil, through cluster sampling. Demographic, socioeconomic, health and health service variables were used to describe the population according to primary health care area. The association between primary health care coverage area and access to its services, access barriers and participation in educational activities were estimated through prevalence ratios (PR) using multilevel logistic regression models in the R software. Access to primary health care services was reported by 89.5% of individuals, with no statistically significant differences between this type of access and primary health care coverage area. However, among individuals who reside in areas covered by FHS, there was greater access to harm reduction and health promotion actions (PR = 3.0; 95%CI: 1.68-5.34), but also lower probability of being seen by a health worker on the same day the appointment was scheduled (PR = 0.60; 95%CI: 0.48-0.74) and lower availability of public transportation (RP = 0.59; 95%CI: 0.39-0.90). Study results point to a high prevalence of access to primary health care services among adolescents and young adults. Though we did not observe a difference in access between areas with FHS coverage, young people's greater participation in prevention and health promotion activities reinforces this strategy's importance within Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS).