Práticas de profissionais da atenção primária à saúde no cuidado às demências

Abstract

Introduction: Brazil has been undergoing a transformation in its demographic profile characterized by the aging of its population. This scenario also translates into a change in the epidemiological profile, with increased incidence and prevalence of dementia. Thus, there has been an increase in the demand for care of these tables in primary health care and, therefore, the need for a care qualified by their professionals. Primary health care is the gateway to the health system and must be prepared to meet the demands of society, such as population ageing and dementia. Objective: To analyze the practices of physicians and nurses of primary health care in the care of the elderly with dementia. Method: This is a cross-sectional and analytical study, carried out in the primary care of municipalities of the family and Community Medicine residency and multiprofessional residency in family Health of the State University of Montes Claros-Unimontes. In the period from March to October of the year 2018, the questionnaires were applied to medical professionals and nurses. An approximate population of 685 professionals was estimated. The questionnaire applied contained questions about socio-demographic, economic, training, occupational and professional practices in the care of dementia, being used for these, the instrument "sanitary attention to demences: the vision of Basic attention "in the versions for physicians and nurses. The software IBM-SPSS version 20.0 was used for data analysis. For descriptive statistical analysis of the variables, means, absolute and relative frequencies and for the comparative analysis were used the chi-square test, with a significance level of 0.05. The research project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Unimontes under the opinion n° 2.483.632. Results: 316 professionals participated in this study, 138 physicians and 178 nurses. It was observed that 73% of the total number of professionals did not have a specific agenda for elderly care. The nurses presented higher frequency (30.5%) Not to perform a monthly consultation of patients with dementia. To assess cognitive function, it was observed that the Mini Mental State examination was cited by 52.5% of the professionals. A statistically significant association was observed between time of professional experience in the FHS and participation in training activity in dementia (physician P = 0,026; nurses P = 0,049) and difficulties to care for patients with severe dementia (p = 0.006) among physicians. It was detected that participation in training activity in dementia (physician P = 0,028; nurse p = 0.003) and frequency of follow-up for the caregiver (physician P = 0,034; nurse p = 0.051) were statistically associated with the training of professionals Physicians and nurses. Conclusion: It was found an incipient practice of physicians and nurses of primary health care in the care of the elderly with dementia, which reveals the importance of creating educational strategies aimed at qualifying care.