Performance of family health teams for tackling chronic diseases in a state of the Amazon

Abstract

The most common cause of death worldwide is noncommunicable diseases. A cross sectional study was conducted to evaluate the adequacy of the work process among family health teams and compare differences in regional adequacy in the state of Tocantins, in the Amazonian Region, Brazil. Categorical principal components analysis was used, and scores of each principal component extracted in the analysis were compared among health regions in Tocantins. A post hoc analysis was performed to compare the heath region pairs. The adequacy of family health teams’ work process was evaluated with respect to the Strategic Action Plan to Tackle NCDs. The results showed that the family health teams performed actions according to the Strategic Action Plan to Tackle NCDs. However, overall, the ade quacy percentages of these actions according to the axes of the Plan are very uneven in Tocantins, with large variations among health regions. The family health teams in the Bico do Papagaio (Region 1), Me´dio Norte Araguaia (Region 2), Cantão (Region 4) and Capim Dourado (Region 5) regions have adequacy percentages � 50% with the Strategic Action Plan to Tackle NCDs, whereas all other regions have percentages <50%. Health teams per form surveillance actions, health promotion, and comprehensive care for NCDs in accor dance with the guidelines of the Strategic Action Plan to Tackle NCDs. The challenge of NCDs in primary care requires a care model that is tailored to users’ needs and has the power to reduce premature mortality and its determinants.