ABSTRACT
Purpose:
to describe the evolution of speech-language pathologists supply in the Unified Health System (SUS) and in Primary Healthcare (PHC) in Brazil, from 2008 to 2013.
Methods:
an ecological study in which the analysis units were the 27 federative units of Brazil. Information from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the National Registry of Health Establishments was used as database, regarding the period from 2008 to 2013. This study calculated the indicators of speech-language pathologists supply in SUS and in PHC and the ratio of speech-language pathologists working in PHC among those working on SUS. In addition, the relative evolution of the coefficient of active speech-language pathologists in PHC during the studied period was measured.
Results:
an increase of the supply of speech-language pathologists both in SUS and in PHC was found in all federative units. In 2013, the supply coefficient of speech-language pathologists in SUS varied from 7.73/105 inhabitants, in Amapá, to 2.12/105 inhabitants in Amazonas. The same coefficient regarding PHC varied from 2.86/105 inhabitants, in Amapá, to 0.19/105 inhabitants in the Federal District. The states of Sergipe and Piauí presented the highest increases of the relative evolution of the speech-language pathologists’ coefficient in PHC, with increments of 800% and 788%, respectively. The lowest increase was in Mato Grosso do Sul, that is, 1.25%.
Conclusion:
there was an increase in the supply of speech-language pathologists in the Unified Health System and in Primary Healthcare, however, such supply raise occurred unequally among the federative units of Brazil.
Keywords:
Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences; Health Services Accessibility; Primary Health Care