Diversity in provision and utilization of maternal and child health care in an urban area of Brazil

Abstract

Health services in Brazil are characterized by a multiplicity of providers. While many are ultimately funded from public sources, notably the National Social Security Scheme, a large proportion are provided by the private sector. This variety of providers of health care has hindered the development of comprehensive care and the coverage of those in greatest need. In recent years increasing attention has been given to ways of reducing the undesirable aspects of this situation. The Federal and State Governments have established committees to improve coordination between services and set up several pilot programmes. One concerned with improving the effective coverage of maternal and child services has been established in Sorocaba. Sorocaba is a medium-sized city which is typical of the many urban centres in the state of São Paulo. This paper describes a study which has provided information from a representative sample of women, who had recently had a baby, on their eligibility for care from the various health services available in the city and on their actual use of those services. This information has been used in the implementation of a pilot programme. Most mothers attended some service for antenatal care. Almost 20% used several services because their entitlement varied from scheme to scheme and some services provided only specific components of care. This applied also to preventive and curative infant care.