Evaluation of the care provided by the outpatient clinic of the league of combat against STD/AIDS, health center, S.P., 1994-1997

Abstract

The medical care provided by the students of the League of Combat against STD/AIDS belonging to the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto - USP over a period of three and a half years was evaluated. We used the method of health evaluation based on the study of medical care during a continuous period of monitoring. The aim was to assess the quality of the care provided, analyzed in terms of the diagnoses formulated, of laboratory and complementary tests, of curative measures and of health promotion and disease prevention. A total of 66 individuals were studied, 48.5% of them being communicants of patients with HIV and AIDS, 27.3% HIVinfected patients, and 24.2% patients with AIDS. Most patients were males, although the man:woman ratio has been growing from 1:1, 2:1 and 3.5:1 in the following order: communicants, infected subjects and patients, with a modal frequency of 40.9% in the 30 to 39 year age range. Educational level and occupation were characteristic of a low socioeconomic level. The following
diagnoses were made: cell immune deficiency; contacts with patients with aids, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases; infectious respiratory disease; sexually transmitted diseases; and parasitosis. The clients were followed up on average for a period of 3.2 months and received 2.4 visits, and 47.7% of them abandoned treatment. The students participated actively in the research, the methodology and the quantitative information obtained permitted the assessment of the quality of care, with the health service corresponding to the expectations for an institutional alternative for training and for providing care closer to the community.