Abstract
This study aimed to define the profile of hospitalizations of children in public hospitals of 52 municipalities of the state of Rondônia, Brazil. We performed an ecological time series study using secondary data provided by the Hospital Information System. The annual trend of Hospitalizations was presented by age group and health region. Linear regression was performed using the Prais-Winsten technique of the statistical package Stata, version 11.0. Hospitalizations for gastrointestinal diseases were found to be decreasing in all age groups, just as those for vaccine-preventable diseases in children aged between 1 and 9 years. Hospitalizations for skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases were increasing in all ages, as well as those caused by epilepsies in children aged 1 to 9 and those caused by diseases related to childbirth and puerperium. Health regions showed a varied hospitalization profile. A stable trend was found in the Cone Sul, Madeira-Mamoré, Café, Vale do Guaporé, and Vale do Jamari regions, whereas a declining trend was found in the Central and Zona da Mata regions. The high rates of hospitalizations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions in children show how inefficient strategies and investments in primary care have been in the state of Acre, Brazil.
Key words:
Child health; Hospitalization; Primary health care