Abstract

The hegemonic presence of chronic conditions in the world in recent decades has pushed health systems to reorganization, aimed at viability and economic sustainability with ‘user-centered’ and integrated actions, and also using the logic model of health care networks. One of the alternatives to meet this need relates to home care, which intends to assist bedridden chronic patients at home as a substitute and/or complementary to hospital care. This study aim to describe the socio-demographic and clinical profile of the population assisted by the home care program of Federal District, bearing in mind how recent is the model of home care in Brazil, and the fact that studies in this area are scarce. The study is a cross-sectional descriptive study, based on data collection from medical records of all the 857 patients enrolled in the home care program of Federal District between January, 2012 and August, 2013. The study variables were the socio-demographic characteristics (place of residence, age and gender) and clinical-epidemiological characteristics (primary diagnosis, care modality, length of stay and clinical evolution). The general profile of patients assisted in the service was characterized by the predominance of older people - over 60 years (62.66%), females (55.78%), with cardiovascular diseases (26.37%), in low-complexity care (61.49%), remaining in the program between 1 and 2 years (46.09%) and remaining active in the service registration (21.82%). The analysis of this profile identified that the home care program (Programa de Internação Domiciliar, PID) of Federal District has assisted patients with predominant low complexity profile, which is the responsibility of the Primary Health Care, thus distorting its potential for dehospitalization of medium-complexity chronic patients, which is its public target.

Key words: Home care services, epidemiologic study characteristics as topic, delivery of health care, homebound persons, home care services, hospital-based.