Abstract
This article aims to evaluate the effect of Emergency Care Units (UPA) on hospitalizations for conditions sensitive to primary care (ICSAP) in the municipalities of the state of Rio de Janeiro. To achieve the proposed objective, the empirical strategy used consisted of elaborating a model of differences in differences (DD) organized at the municipal level between the years 2000 to 2017, identifying the ICSAP from the individual’s municipality of residence. It was found that UPAs have a negative and significant effect on the rate of ACSC, characterizing this health structure as a relevant instrument capable of reducing overcrowding in hospital emergencies. On average, the municipalities with installed UPA reduced the ICSAP by approximately 21 units per 100 thousand inhabitants during the period in which the UPAs was inaugurated. These results provide evidence of the importance of UPAs in the current Brazilian system of attention to urgencies and emergencies.
Keywords:
Emergency Care Units; Hospitalizations; Diff-in-Diff