Low risk emergencies: integration analysis between primary care and Emergency Care Unit

Abstract

The study analyzes the attention given to low risk emergencies in a metropolitan area of high socio-environmental vulnerability in Rio de Janeiro, through triangulation of data and sources, within the scope of the Family Health Strategy and the local Emergency Care Unit. Data came from administrative records (medical records), direct observation, interviews and focus groups with managers, workers and users (108 participants). Attendances were analyzed according to diagnosis, type and time of occurrence and sociodemographic data; the qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis, according to the categories: what urgency for which service; territorial issues; access; positive and negative aspects of services. The Strategy takes on the function of meeting urgencies according to production data and opinions from interviewees. Previous experiences influenced the pattern of users’ access. Socio-environmental fragility increases the demand, stresses the Strategy’s programmatic attendance and can generate risks by the fast treatment at the Emergency Care Unit, which has been a place of hospitalization, due to the scarcity of beds. Both types of services work seamlessly. The level of satisfaction with the Family Health Strategy indicated by the population and its centrality to the care networks are enhanced by the reception to the urgencies.