Incorporation of telehealth in primary healthcare and associated factors in Brazil

The study aimed to analyze the Brazil Networks Telehealth Program in the context of primary healthcare (PHC) in Brazil and to identify related factors. This cross-sectional study used data from the second cycle of the Program for Improvement of Access and Quality of Basic Healthcare (PMAQ-AB). The sample consisted of 29,756 healthcare teams who joined the program voluntarily. Independent variables included contextual characteristics (region and population size), healthcare unit (type, telephone access, broadband, number of physicians and nurses, consultation offices, community health workers’ room, meeting room, existence of telehealth) and health team characteristics (institutional support). Crude and Poisson regression-adjusted analyses assessed which variables are associated with greater use of telehealth. Prevalence of use of telehealth was 32.7% in the total sample and 73.3% among teams with the Program implemented. Tele-education was the most frequently used modality. Higher rates of prevalence of use were found in the South and Southeast of Brazil, in municipalities with up to 30,000 inhabitants, with telehealth implemented in the unit, with presence of at least one physician, and with at least one telephone available in the service. Institutional support had a 40% positive impact on prevalence of use of telehealth. Infrastructure variables such as Internet and availability of rooms with different purposes appeared not to significantly impact the use of these technologies, indicating that institutional support and the implementation of telehealth itself in the unit are more important for increasing adherence to the Program.

Keywords:
Telemedicine; Primary Health Care; Health Care Surveys; Cross-Sectional Studies