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User satisfaction in the Brazilian health system: associated factors and regional differences

Developing evaluation models of satisfaction that allow comparing health systems in different countries is a recent effort in Brazil. This is an important tool for building management strategies for the health sector. Objective: To evaluate regional variations related to the degree of user satisfaction with the Brazilian healthcare system, analyzing the results of the World Health Survey (WHS) and World Health Survey Focusing on Primary Health Care (WHS-PHC). The evaluation was done, based on a cross-sectional study with a random sample. People over 18 years of age who used the health system in periods before data collection were included. There were 3,932 users of WHS and 591 of WHS-PHC that fit these criteria. A multivariate logistic model was applied using satisfaction as the dependent variable and as independent variables: sex, age, educational level, service payment type, marital status, self-perception of health, long-term illness, diagnosis of depression, sadness, number of residents per household, type of house building, geographical stratum, and household goods index. The results revealed that being young and an exclusive user of the public National Health System, having low schooling and poor self-perception of health increased the chances of lower user satisfaction. Residents of the Southern Region of the country were more satisfied with their healthcare, while in Pernambuco, chances of satisfaction were lower when evaluating the quality of health services. The residents of this state showed greater satisfaction in solving their health problems when inpatient care was needed.

Regional variations; Health system; User satisfaction; Evaluation models


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