Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
to describe the occurrence, characteristics and expenditures of hospitalizations due to diseases associated with poor sanitation funded by the Brazilian National Health System (SUS) among residents of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil, from 2010 to 2014.
METHODS:
descriptive study with data from SUS Hospital Information System (SIH/SUS).
RESULTS:
out of 13,929 hospitalizations for diseases associated with poor sanitation, 93.7% were related to fecal-oral transmission diseases and 20.4% were children from 1 to 4 years of age (28.1 hospitalizations/10,000 inhabitants/year); hospital fatality rate was of 2.2%, fecal-oral transmission diseases were the main causes of death; intensive care unit (ICU) was used in 2.0% of hospitalizations; total expenditures on hospitalizations was around BRL6.1 million.
CONCLUSION:
diseases associated with poor sanitation are still an important issue in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre-RS, although this region presents good development indicators.
Keywords:
Communicable Diseases; Sanitation; Basic Sanitation; Health Policy, Planning and Management; Epidemiology, Descriptive