O Mundo da Saúde (Nov 2021)
Self-classification of the health of residents belonging to rural settlements and their evaluation of the healthcare received
Abstract
Residents of rural settlements face difficulties in accessing health services. This is determined by the socioeconomic conditions of these populations. It is possible that these people rate their own health and the quality of public services they have access to as unsatisfactory. This study aimed to analyze the self-evaluation of health among residents of rural settlements and their assessment of the health services they use. This was a cross-sectional study, which interviewed, through a semi-structured instrument, residents of two rural settlements located in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The instrument sought to analyze the epidemiological profile, the self-evaluation of the health of these residents, using an evaluative scale. Moreover, their assessment of the quality of the health services they access was evaluated. Twenty-four residents of two settlements were interviewed. 54.2% of them (n=13) had chronic diseases. The most reported were Systemic Arterial Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus. Among residents, 45.8% (n=11) evaluated their own health as poor or fair and 45.8% as good. The analysis of the speeches indicated dissatisfaction with the quality of the health services used. The chronic disease rates found among residents of rural settlements may be due to the low coverage of Primary Health Care close to their homes. Improving the quality of the service provided by the Basic Family Health Units closest to rural settlements can reduce future cardiovascular disease rates among this population.
