Factors associated with the care of elderly persons with Primary Health Care sensitive conditions

Abstract

Abstract Objective: to analyze factors associated with the care of the elderly for Primary Health Care sensitive conditions in an Emergency Care Unit. Method: a cross-sectional study was carried out in a municipal district located in the northwest of the state of Paraná, Brazil, between May and November of 2015. A semi-structured instrument was used, consisting of three distinct blocks that addressed sociodemographic profile, characterization of care and the reasons that led the elderly to seek care in the unit. The data were submitted to descriptive analysis and logistic regression for the treatment of variables. Results: A total of 191 elderly persons, who were female (56%), had less than eight years of schooling (85.3%) and were retirees (78.5%) were interviewed. The results showed that people with chronic morbidities were 1.42 times more likely (CI: 1.08 - 5.42) to seek the Emergency Care Unit prior to the Basic Health Unit and were 1.65 times more likely (IC: 1.01 - 6.82) to be referred by the unit for care. The lack of a doctor in Basic Health Units was also a factor responsible for the 1.36 times greater chance (CI: 1.03 - 5.38) of the elderly being referred to the Emergency Care Unit for primary care sensitive conditions. Conclusion: the lack of human resources in the first level of care of the health service, together with the need for treatment of morbidities, were factors associated with the elderly seeking treatment for primary care sensitive conditions, with diseases of the osteomuscular and connective tissue systems the main reasons for seeking such care (47.6%).