Health care services are responsible for attending to the population's demand, which is the sum of social, individual and cultural factors. A knowledge of health consumption patterns becomes, thus, necessary. Through the Grade of Membership (GoM) technique, four health consumption profiles were generated for this article. Andersen's theoretical model of health service consumption served as a frame of reference, allowing for health service demand estimates according to high and low levels of enabling, need and predisposing consumption factors. Worthy of notice is the fact that 14% of the Brazilian population over 14 years of age (excluding the Northern region) present high need and predisposal despite their low enabling characteristics. This group consists predominantly of elderly people living alone and in dire need of specialized services.
Utilization of health services; Grade of Membership (GoM); Brazil
