Abstract
Introduction Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a major cause of mortality in Brazil, requiring the improvement of healthcare mechanisms that can promote rapid and effective care for patients.
Objectives To identify and characterize Brazilian policies and programs (PP) regarding urgency and emergency care in the context of CVD.
Method The scoping review followed recommendations from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). The search for studies was conducted across seven databases. The screening and eligibility steps were performed by reviewers independently, with conflicts resolved by consensus or consultation with a third reviewer. The data extraction was done in a spreadsheet and the information was analyzed and grouped by content similarity.
Results Through the analysis of 14 studies, a systematic and contextualized understanding was gained regarding 10 PPs implemented in the urgency and emergency network (RUE) for individuals with CVDs. SAMU emerged as the most extensively studied PP, predominantly in the state of Minas Gerais. The diseases most commonly addressed in these studies included acute myocardial infarction (featured in 80% of publications), stroke, acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. These PP have demonstrated significant improvements in clinical outcomes, particularly in reducing morbidity and mortality rates. The studies also revealed important insights into barriers and drivers related to infrastructure, health education, and system management and coordination.
Conclusion The evidence gathered provides significant contributions to guide future policy development and improve decision-making in clinical management for cardiologists.
Emergencies; Health Policy; Cardiology; Cardiovascular Diseases
Introduction
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the main cause of death in the world.1 In Brazil, coronary artery disease ranks as the leading cause of mortality among CVDs, followed by stroke.2
Given Brazil's demographic landscape and epidemiological profile, characterized by an aging population with high rates of morbidity and mortality due to accidents and other forms of violence, the Urgency and Emergency Network (RUE) emerges as a critical component of the Health Care Network (RAS).3 However, despite its pivotal role in organizing care for these conditions, the RUE faces several challenges that hinder its effectiveness, including inadequate regulatory mechanisms, financial management difficulties across different governmental levels, a lack of evaluation and monitoring culture, and weaknesses in information systems.4
Faced with the pressing need to develop, assess, and enhance healthcare services, this review aims to identify and characterize Brazilian policies and programs (PP) in urgency and emergency care in the context of CVDs. The review is conducted within the actions of the Good Practices in Cardiology (BPC) program, which aims to enhance care for major CVDs through evidence-based health promotion strategies.5 Aligned with the principles of knowledge translation, understanding these PP systematically, along with their associated challenges and solutions, can provide critical insights for continuously improving BPCs and other initiatives within Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS).
Method
A scoping review was carried out following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) manual for evidence syntheses.6 The protocol for this review was developed and registered on the OSF platform (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/BYNTR). The research question was formulated using the PCC (Population, Concept, Context) framework to explore PPs concerning the RUE in the context of CVDs in Brazil. Therefore, the scoping review was guided by the following research question: What are the Brazilian programs and policies related to the RUE in the context of CVDs? The following sub-question complemented this guiding question: What are the barriers and facilitators to implementing the PPs identified?
For the elements of the research question, only PP implemented to make the RUE operational were considered, excluding isolated actions or PP under the preparation phase. In this context, CVDs were included, allowing studies with other diseases as long as CVDs were also addressed. Peripheral arterial disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism were excluded. The Brazilian territory was the only one considered.
Regarding the type of studies, primary and secondary or tertiary studies were included, whether indexed or not, without restrictions regarding the study design. Congress abstracts, protocols, clinical guidelines or other documents without access to the full text were excluded.
The selected studies were restricted to English, Portuguese and Spanish languages. The search was conducted in the following information sources and databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, VHL, Epistemonikos, and Health System Evidence. Moreover, grey literature searches were conducted, including the Capes Theses and Dissertations Catalog and Google Scholar. The search terms were established according to the research question, using prior mapping of potentially eligible studies and consultation of the Health Sciences Descriptors (DECS) and the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH terms).
In order to increase the probability of retrieving studies of interest, the reference list of each article included at the end of the selection (eligibility) stage was also consulted. No limits were established regarding the publication date.
After removing duplicates using Mendeley software, the records were included in the Rayyan platform. This platform was used both in the screening processes (selection by title and abstract) and eligibility (selection by full text). The title and summary of each record identified in the databases/platforms were reviewed independently by two researchers, and disagreements were resolved by consensus. In Google Scholar, the items on each page were consulted until the records ceased to have any relation to the topic. The studies selected during the screening phase were then thoroughly reviewed independently by two reviewers, with any conflicts resolved through consensus or consultation with a third reviewer.
An extraction spreadsheet was created based on the elements of the research question, including information such as authors, type of institution of the first author, year of publication, study design, objectives, policies or programs (name, date of creation/implementation, objectives, initiatives developed, responsible for implementing the initiative, place of implementation, RAS point of care, CVDs, characteristics of the population, social actors portrayed in the study, barriers and facilitators for the implementation of the policy or program, other relevant results, study financing and conflicts of interest. Each article was extracted by a reviewer, with extraction checking by another researcher on the team. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. A calibration exercise was performed before the extraction began to validate the spreadsheet and align the information collection.
The data collected was analyzed using the elements of the research question as a reference. For this reason, the information collected was categorized and grouped by content similarity. This review’s report was based on the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews [PRISMA-ScR] Checklist).7
Results
Exactly 16,373 records were retrieved from the different information sources consulted. After removing duplicates (n = 15), 16,358 documents were screened, and 38 were evaluated in full. At the end of the selection, 14 documents were included in the review, nine of which were obtained from the search and five from the reference list of articles reviewed in full text (Table 1). The list of articles excluded in the eligibility stage, with the appropriate justifications, can be accessed on the OSF platform (https://osf.io/4tyqb/?view_only=0195952ead7f4677ab2df94eaf27e15b). The selection process is described in the figure below (Figure 1).
The documents included were mostly articles (n = 12),9,11-17,19-22 published between 2007 and 2023 (Table 1). Regarding the articles, 75% were published in Brazilian journals (n = 9),9,11-14,17,19,21,22 with emphasis on Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia with six publications.12,14,17,19,21,22
Regarding CVDs, approximately 80% of studies addressed acute myocardial infarction (n=11).9-15,17-20 Three other conditions appeared in two studies: stroke,9,16 acute coronary syndrome,21,22 and heart failure.21,22 Finally, atrial fibrillation was portrayed in one study.22
Ten PP related to urgency and emergency care were identified in the context of eligible CVDs (Table 2). Out of the 14 studies included, three aimed to analyze the Mobile Emergency Care Service (SAMU)11,18,19 and two the Good Practices in Cardiology (BPC) Program21,22 and the integrated regional networks for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation.15,20 Most of the PP were presented in locations in the state of Minas Gerais (n=5),9,12,14,21,22 and three works brought analyses and discussions from a national perspective10,16,18 (Table 2).
The PPs activated several points of the RAS in Emergencies, with SAMU being the most cited service in the studies (n=7),9,11,12,14,16,18,19 followed by Hospitals (n=6),14-17,21,22 and UPAs (n=4).10,13-15 Finally, Basic Health Units (UBS) were included together with urgency and emergency services in a study.9
PP adopted several strategies against CVD (Table 3), which were grouped into four categories: Management, Health Care, Health Education, and Research.
Half of the PP identified involved management actions, with seven of them promoting the reorganization of the care network,9,11,12,14,16,20 including the regionalization of services and the implementation of care lines. Other actions focused on the development and improvement of internal service flows (n=4),13-15,22 infrastructure investments (n=3),11,14,16 such as the availability of ambulances and the construction of equipment, and initiatives focused on the evaluation of assistance indicators (n=1 policy/program).21,22
The “Health care” category covered five initiatives PP,10,13-16,20 with emphasis on the promotion of telemedicine in four of them. Additionally, two initiatives focused on direct health care, including the creation of emergency care units10 and support for families of stroke patients.16
The “Health Education” category was covered in five PP.14,16,17,19,21,22 Three of them14,16,17 employed strategies for training and engaging health professionals, including team training and dissemination of clinical protocols. Activities to promote clinical practices based on scientific evidence were observed in three PP,19,21,22 in addition to educational campaigns for the general population (n=1)16 and creation of educational materials (n=1).17 In the “Research” category, two PP16,20 promoted studies on CVDs and formed collaborative networks of researchers.
The included studies provided results on the effect of eight of the 10 PP identified in the review (Table 4). Six PP were associated with a reduction in mortality due to AMI and stroke,9-11,14,15,17,18 in addition to hospital morbidity due to AMI.9 Likewise, four of them allowed patients access to specialized care,14,16,19 although one study showed increased hospitalization costs.14
Two PP14,17 resulted in an increased number of trained professionals, while four of them demonstrated an improvement in the quality of care.15-17,21 This improvement was related to both the reduction in time between assistance, examinations, diagnosis and treatment,15 as well as adherence to practices based on current clinical recommendations.15-17,21 In the latter case, for example, one of the PP found adherence above 85% in six of the seven indicators analyzed in the treatment of acute coronary syndrome and three of the five evaluated for heart failure.21,22
Seven studies (50%),14,16-21 referring to six policies, identified barriers and/or facilitators for the implementation of these initiatives (Table 5). Among the barriers, three PP described challenges related to health education,17,19,20 two PP addressed infrastructure issues,19,20 and two mentioned barriers in the management and coordination of the health system.19,20 On the other hand, three PP pointed out items related to management and coordination16,18,21 as facilitators, one in the context of health education21 and the other related to infrastructure.14
Discussion
This review presents findings from studies that characterize Brazilian PPs in urgent and emergency care related to CVDs. All studies included were conducted post the 2010 restructuring of SUS following the RAS model and its thematic networks, with one exception,23 demonstrating the impact of this health policy on healthcare organization, specifically within the RUE, albeit not exclusively for CVD. The significance of SAMU and the effective integration of UBS as a primary point for emergency care are emphasized, underscoring primary care's role as a care coordinator within SUS.24 The concentration of studies in the southeastern region of Brazil, particularly in Minas Gerais and São Paulo, underscores the extensive implementation of the hospital component of RUE, along with focal points for AMI, stroke, and trauma in this macro-region.25
The BPC program has shown promising outcomes for RUE in CVD,21,22 yet improvements are still needed, as noted in Passaglia et al.'s study.21 This study highlighted that one of the seven acute coronary syndrome indicators fell below target (advice to quit smoking), along with two of the five heart failure indicators evaluated (ACEI or ARB and spironolactone at hospital discharge).21,22
The challenges identified in implementing these programs highlight the importance of training healthcare professionals, particularly in health education strategies, to overcome implementation hurdles. Moreover, the absence of studies employing implementation science methodologies underscores the need to integrate scientific evidence into RUE service practices.26
It is noteworthy that the primary focus of studies on RUE with a CVD emphasis revolves around health management, likely aiming to address governance vulnerabilities identified by Padilha et al.27 In general, RUE needs progress to establish an effective service network. Regarding the implementation of programs, the importance of telemedicine in health care in RUE for CVD was evident. Telemedicine is increasingly established as a tool to enhance care, facilitating clinical decisions for invasive treatments in patients with ST-segment elevation AMI28 and enabling consultations between cardiologists at specialized centers and patients in remote areas.29
Another significant finding from the identified studies is the clinical management approach through care pathways, particularly for AMI and stroke, underscoring integrated care for patients. The evidence gathered9-15,17-20 consistently correlates with the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the country.11 The concentration of studies and initiatives aims to enhance diagnosis, therapeutic approaches, and patient management in cases of AMI. Implementing an integrated regional network to ensure swift reperfusion and employing evidence-based therapies is feasible and can enhance survival rates among patients with CVD.
The findings of this study (Central Illustration) are pertinent and robust, given the limited updates in RUE and CVD care over the past decade, both in research and institutional programs and strategies. However, it's important to note that while this study identified descriptions of reported effects in the literature, these do not necessarily reflect the interventions' effectiveness. This scoping review primarily maps relevant information without evaluating the methodological quality of the studies or the confidence level of the evidence. Furthermore, the lack of results does not mean the lack of effect of RUE PPs focusing on CVD.
In addition to this methodological consideration, reporting the limitations of the present review is necessary. Despite the broad and sensitive search, both for indexed studies and gray literature, the nature of the question may have led to the loss of potential studies since PPs are not always named or indexed in databases. Furthermore, this type of publication may be more restricted to internal technical documents from health departments or other institutions responsible for its implementation, requiring primary studies with the aim of identifying them. Another consideration is that during the selection process, conference abstracts containing actions potentially linked to PPs were identified. However, due to the lack of access to full-text articles, these studies were omitted to prevent biasing the results. Future reviews could assess whether this data has since been published in full subsequent to the completion of this study.
Finally, the findings highlight important research gaps, including the exploration of additional cardiovascular conditions and RUE components, such as the role of UBS in initial emergency care. Moreover, new cross-sectional studies are essential for a comprehensive approach to care management, focusing not only on access but also on quality, incorporating indicators related to impacts and costs.
Conclusion
The evidence gathered provides significant contributions to guide future policy development and improve decision-making in clinical management for cardiologists. However, substantial gaps in research persist, with few studies dedicated to describing and/or evaluating the implementation of programs and policies in RUE with a focus on CVD. Therefore, investigating other cardiovascular conditions is crucial. In conclusion, new cross-sectional studies that adopt a comprehensive approach to health care are essential.
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Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
19 Aug 2024 -
Date of issue
2024
History
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Received
16 Apr 2024 -
Received
8 June 2024 -
Accepted
17 June 2024