Health in sight: an analysis of Primary Health Care in riverside and rural Amazon areas

Abstract

The National Primary Care Policy has provided a significant change in terms of health actions in the riverside territory, establishing health teams and equipment. The Riverside and Fluvial Family Health teams for the Legal Amazon and Pantanal areas have been innovative regarding the integral care of the forest populations. This study aims to analyze primary health care in the rural and riverside context in the Amazon territory, based on the production of individual and collective actions by health teams, as well as their performance through services offered in the municipalities. The study is cross-sectional, with a descriptive-analytical design and quantitative approach, and analyzes the coverage of primary health care actions of family health strategy teams in urban, rural and riverside areas of eight municipalities located in the state of Amazonas. The results showed that there was an increase in primary care coverage in almost all analyzed municipalities, indicating that techno-assistance models such as the riverside and fluvial teams resulted in the inclusion of a population that is scattered over large areas of the territory of municipalities. A health policy that promotes equity results in changes and alterations in the ways of life and health status of the Amazonian populations.

Key words
Primary Health Care; Rural Health Services; Patient Care Team; Amazonas