Continuity of care from the perspective of users

• Autor(a) principal: Mendes, Felismina
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Gemito, Laurência, Caldeira, Ermelinda, Serra, Isaura, Casas-Novas, Vitória
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/22842; https://doi.org/FRP Mendes, MLGP Gemito, EC Caldeira, IC Serra, MV Casas-Novas (2017). Continuity of care from the perspective of users. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva 22 (3), 841-853. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232017223.26292015; https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232017223.26292015
• topic: Patient care continuity; Primary Health Care; Community health services; Health

Continuity of care, in addition to en- suring improvement of the quality of care, con- tributes to the reduction of health costs. The objec- tive of this study was to analyse the continuity of care in health units in the municipality of Évora (south of Portugal), from the perspective of users. This is across-sectional, exploratory and descrip- tive study with a quantitative approach, with a sample consisting of 342 users of health units. The instrument was a questionnaire adapted from En- glish and Spanish studies. The results show that elements of continuity were identi ed in the dif- ferent dimensions of the continuity of care - rela- tional, management, information and some items of exible continuity. Longitudinal continuity has the lowest values in nursing care. In conclusion, what stands out positively, and in its different di- mensions, is relational continuity, in which most users recommend their family doctor and nurse to family and friends, and exible continuity, which translates into reduced waiting times to be attend- ed by a doctor or nurse and access to care. What stands out negatively is the weak involvement of the user in care by health professionals, in the di- mensions of relational continuity.