Contextual characteristics and demand for health services among Brazilian adolescents: Brazilian National Health Survey, 2019

Abstract:

This study aimed to describe the prevalence of demand for health services among Brazilian adolescents and to investigate its association with contextual characteristics of the territory. Study with data from the Brazilian National Health Survey, conducted in 2019, including 43,774 individuals aged from 10 to 19 years. Adolescent’s information was obtained through a proxy resident of 18 years or more who answered for all the residents of the household. Poisson regression was used to assess the demand for health services according to geopolitical region, economic status, and type of municipality. The interaction of the health insurance was also evaluated in these associations. Of the total, 11.7% (95%CI: 11.1; 12.3) of the adolescents sought health services in the two weeks prior to the survey. Greater figures of demand were observed in the Southeast (PR = 1.32; 95%CI: 1.15; 1.52) and South regions (PR = 1.31; 95%CI: 1.13; 1.52) compared to the Northern Region of Brazil. Having a health insurance increased the demand for services by adolescents living in rural areas and in capitals and the municipalities of the Metropolitan Areas and/or Integrated Development Regions. The study showed a low prevalence of demand for health services among adolescents and contextual inequalities for the geopolitical region. Having a health insurance was an important marker to understand the disparities in the economic status and in the type of municipality.

Keywords:
Health Services; Adolescents; Health Inequalities; Cross-Sectional Studies