The hospitalizations are part of cancer care and has been studied by researchers worldwide. A better understanding about their associated factors may help to achieve improvements on this area. The aims of this study were to investigate the association between demographic and clinical characteristics and hospitalizations, as well as between these characteristics and the length of stay (LOS), within the first year of outpatient treatment, for the most incident cancers in the Brazilian population. In this cohort study, we investigated 417,477 patients aged 19 years or more, who started outpatient cancer treatment, from 2010-2014, for breast, prostate, colorectal, cervix, lung and stomach cancers. The outcomes evaluated were: i) Hospitalizations within the first year of outpatient cancer treatment; and ii) LOS of the hospitalized patients. It was performed a binary logistic regression to evaluate the association between the explanatory variables and the hospitalizations and a negative binomial regression to evaluate their influence on the length of hospital stay. The hospitalizations occurred for 34% of patients, with a median of LOS of 6 days (IQR: 2-15). Female patients were 16% less likely to be hospitalized (OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.82-0.86), with lower average of LOS (AR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97-0.99), each additional year of age reduced in 2% the hospitalization odds (OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.98-0.99) and in 1% the average of LOS (AR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.98-0.99), patients from South region had twice more chances of hospitalization than from North region (OR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.93-2.10) and patients with colorectal cancer had greater probability of hospitalization (OR: 4.42; 95% CI: 4.27-4.48), with the highest average of LOS (AR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.35-1.40). In view of our results, we consider that the government must expand the policies with potential to reduce the number of hospitalizations.

RESUMO Este artigo teve como objetivo analisar a distribuição espacial das equipes de Atenção Básica em Saúde (ABS) avaliadas pelo Programa Nacional de Melhoria do Acesso e Qualidade da Atenção Básica (PMAQ-AB) segundo as categorias de desempenho para certificação no Programa. Realizou-se uma caracterização da distribuição espacial dos municípios mediante a avaliação do PMAQ-AB, bem como a identificação da presença de padrões espaciais a partir de um indicador de correlação espacial para avaliar o grau de influência do espaço para a certificação das equipes de ABS. Observou-se presença de padrões de natureza espacial em relação à qualidade da ABS. Municípios com valor baixo no indicador cujos vizinhos também apresentam nível baixo foram encontrados em boa parte dos estados do Acre, do Amazonas, de Roraima e do Amapá, bem como no Rio de Janeiro e no Espírito Santo. Foram observados clusters de padrão alto-alto em municípios de São Paulo, Minas Gerais e Rio Grande do Sul, com destaque para Santa Catarina. A identificação de padrões espaciais de qualidade da ABS pode representar um recurso valioso para o aperfeiçoamento do PMAQ-AB. Com isso, é possível desenvolver análises que incorporem variáveis com potencial explicativo para os padrões espaciais de qualidade de ABS encontrados em municípios brasileiros.PALAVRAS-CHAVE Atenção Primária à Saúde. Análise espacial. Brasil. ABSTRACT This article aims to analyze the spatial distribution of the Primary Health Care (ABS) teams evaluated by the National Program for Access and Quality Improvement in Primary HealthCare (PMAQ-AB) according to the categories of performance for certification in the Program. A spatial distribution profile of the municipalities according to the PMAQ-AB evaluation was carried out, as well as the identification of spatial patterns from a spatial correlation indicator to evaluate the degree of space influence for the certification of ABS teams. It was found presence of spatial patterns in relation to ABS quality. Municipalities with low values in the indicator, whose neighbors are also low, are found in most of the states of Acre, Amazonas, Roraima and Amapá, as well as in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. High-high standard clusters were observed in the municipalities of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul, especially in Santa Catarina. The identification of the spatial quality standards of ABS can be a valuable resource for the further PMAQ-AB development. It will be possible, thus, to develop analyses that incorporate variables with explanatory potential for the spatial patterns of ABS quality found in Brazilian municipalities.

OBJECTIVE: To associate the strength of community health workers interventions with primary health care strategies for women’s and children’s health, diabetes, and hypertension. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study assessing 29,778 family health teams working in primary health care in Brazil in 2014. The association between community health workers activity levels and primary health care facilities was analyzed using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: We found higher levels of community health workers activities strongly associated with primary health care practices (OR = 6.88) for those activities targeting hypertension management, followed by children’s health (OR = 6.56), and women’s health (OR = 6.21). CONCLUSIONS: At a time when Brazil discusses whether community health workers should or should not remain in the same scale-up and skill level as they currently are, our results reinforce the importance of these workers for the care model advocated by the Brazilian Unified Health System.

OBJECTIVE To determine the items of the Brazilian National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care that better evaluate the capacity to provide mental health care.METHODS This is a cross-sectional study carried out using the Graded Response Model of the Item Response Theory using secondary data from the second cycle of the National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care, which evaluates 30,523 primary care teams in the period from 2013 to 2014 in Brazil. The internal consistency, correlation between items, and correlation between items and the total score were tested using the Cronbach’s alpha, Spearman’s correlation, and point biserial coefficients, respectively. The assumptions of unidimensionality and local independence of the items were tested. Word clouds were used as one way to present the results.RESULTS The items with the greatest ability to discriminate were scheduling of the agenda according to risk stratification, keeping of records of the most serious cases of users in psychological distress, and provision of group care. The items that required a higher level of mental health care in the parameter of location were the provision of any type of group care and the provision of educational and mental health promotion activities. Total Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.87. The items that obtained the highest correlation with total score were the recording of the most serious cases of users in psychological distress and scheduling of the agenda according to risk stratification. The final scores obtained oscillated between -2.07 (minimum) and 1.95 (maximum).CONCLUSIONS There are important aspects in the discrimination of the capacity to provide mental health care by primary health care teams: risk stratification for care management, follow-up of the most serious cases, group care, and preventive and health promotion actions.

Resumo O objetivo foi verificar a associação entre fatores individuais e organizativos do sistema de saúde com o tempo para o início do tratamento do câncer de pulmão pelo Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) em Minas Gerais. Estudo de coorte retrospectiva com pacientes que iniciaram o tratamento para o câncer de pulmão pelo SUS de 2008 a 2015. Foram selecionadas variáveis sociodemográficas, clínicas e organizativas do sistema de saúde. O modelo de regressão logística avaliou a associação do desfecho do início do tratamento em até 60 dias após o diagnóstico com as variáveis explicativas selecionadas. Utilizou-se a odds ratio (OR) e o respectivo intervalo de confiança (95%) para mensurar a força de associação. A maioria dos tratamentos para o câncer de pulmão em Minas Gerais foram iniciados em até 60 dias após o diagnóstico, entretanto, ser do sexo masculino e diagnosticado em estadiamento IV aumentaram a chance de iniciar o tratamento em até 60 dias; todavia o aumento da idade, iniciar o tratamento por radioterapia, e o local de residência, diminuíram. O tempo para início do tratamento está associado a características individuais e à provisão de serviços nas macrorregiões, e as desigualdades observadas possivelmente se originam a partir do melhor ou pior acesso da população aos serviços prestados.