OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the technical and scientific quality of care provided adolescents, pregnant adolescents and their offspring by the Emaús community's health service in Belém, state of Pará, Brazil, between 1994 and 1996. METHODS: Data for population and health care assessment were collected from medical records and compared with the PAHO/WHO and Brazilian Ministry of Health guidelines. RESULTS: The following features were satisfactory: anthropometric measurements and sexual maturity in adolescent health care program; visits scheduling, weight and blood pressure recording and proceedings in the event of medical problem in prenatal care; early registration in the health program, completing of the immunization schedule, weight and motor development recording and adequacy of medical visits in children care. Other aspects were less satisfactory, such as poor recording of clinical procedures and high level of inadequate or partially adequate procedures for the adolescent group; late admission to prenatal care and low recording of pregnant anti-tetanus immunization in prenatal care; high prevalence of early weaning and poor recording of children's height. CONCLUSION: This easy-to-perform assessment allowed to evaluate the quality of care provided and made it possible to reallocate services and medical procedures to offer health care service better organized and of better quality to meet the population needs.
Process assessment and health care; Quality indicators, health care; Adolescents health services; Health services research; Medical records; Anthropometry; Sex maturation; Pregnancy in adolescence; Child care; Child development; Community health services; Health services assessment; Health care quality
