Evaluation of Care Quality in Primary Health Care Centers

Authors

  • Fernanda Arrondo Costanzo Cátedra de Epidemiología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)
  • Santiago Barragán Cátedra de Epidemiología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)
  • Graciela Etchegoyen Cátedra de Epidemiología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP)
  • José María Paganini Centro Interdisciplinario Universitario para la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, UNLP.

Keywords:

Care Quality, Standards, Primary Health Care Centers

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The quality of care as health policy is considered a strategy to attain health equity. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the characteristics and care quality in primary health care centers (PHCC). METHODS: An evaluative cross-sectional study was conducted. It involved 89 PHCC from the provinces of Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos. A self-assessment of care quality was performed under supervision of an advisory team from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the National University of La Plata. Two hundred (200) standards were evaluated according to the following dimensions: Leadership and Management (LM), Human Resources (HR), Records and Information (RI), Organization Activities (OA), Norms and Guides (NG), Community Activities (CA), Social Participation (SP), Referral system (RS), Physical plant (PP), Material resources (MR) and Supplies (S). RESULTS: Only 18% of PHCC have a basic health team. The overall quality level was 58±14%. In regard to the dimensions, the ranking was: S 87%, MR 70%, OA 66%, CA 63%, PP 61%, LM 55%, RS 55%, NG 47%, HR 43%, RI 41%, SP 32%. CONCLUSIONS: These results allow to perform a situational diagnosis of each PHCC to support specific improvement plans and a comprehensive diagnosis to define strategic priorities for health policies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Published

03-06-2016

How to Cite

Arrondo Costanzo , F. ., Barragán, S. ., Etchegoyen, G. ., & Paganini , J. M. . (2016). Evaluation of Care Quality in Primary Health Care Centers. Revista Argentina De Salud Pública, 7(26), 14–19. Retrieved from https://rasp.msal.gov.ar/index.php/rasp/article/view/193