Acesso a serviços de saúde por ribeirinhos de um município no interior do estado do Amazonas, Brasil

Ananias Facundes Guimarães; Victor Linec Maciel Barbosa; Mariana Paula da Silva; Jéssica Karoline Alves Portugal; Marcelo Henrique da Silva Reis; Abel Santiago Muri Gama

doi:10.5123/S2176-6223202000178

Authors

Ananias Facundes Guimarães Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Instituto de Saúde e Biotecnologia, Coari, Amazonas, Brasil http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5353-0262
Victor Linec Maciel Barbosa Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Instituto de Saúde e Biotecnologia, Coari, Amazonas, Brasil http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2473-4829
Mariana Paula da Silva Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Instituto de Saúde e Biotecnologia, Coari, Amazonas, Brasil http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1946-6110
Jéssica Karoline Alves Portugal Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Instituto de Saúde e Biotecnologia, Coari, Amazonas, Brasil http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0142-2315
Marcelo Henrique da Silva Reis Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Instituto de Saúde e Biotecnologia, Coari, Amazonas, Brasil
Abel Santiago Muri Gama Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Instituto de Saúde e Biotecnologia, Coari, Amazonas, Brasil http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5089-6990

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5123/S2176-6223202000178

Keywords:

Rural Population, Vulnerable Populations, Universal Access to Health Services

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To describe the characteristics of access to health services for riverside dwellers in the Municipality of Coari, Amazonas State, Brazil.

METHODS:

Descriptive, cross-sectional, population-based study was conducted with riverside dwellers in the rural area of Coari, from April to July 2015. The interviews were conducted using a previously prepared questionnaire. Socioeconomic, demographic and access to health services variables were used. The probabilistic sample by clusters was composed of 492 subjects.

RESULTS:

More than half (54.9%) of the riverside inhabitants used small wooden boats to access health services, sailing the average of 60 km and of 4.2 h travel time. The health service most sought by those populations was hospital (65.0%), followed by Basic Health Unit (26.6%), and pharmacies (5.4%). About one in four riverside dwellers (22.2%) stated that they tried unsuccessfully to book a medical appointment, with the main reasons being there were no appointments available (57.8%), the lack of professionals to assist them (28.4%), and the delay to get appointments (13.8%).

CONCLUSION:

The access to health services for riverside dwellers is limited, especially by geographical barriers. It is necessary to articulate strategies that promote access to health services, enabling the continuity of health care to this population.