Application of the Family Risk Scale as an instrument of prioritization of home visits

Abstract

The introduction of the Health Family Program was an attempt to reorganize the primary care in Brazil, presenting the House Visiting as an instrument peculiar to the Family Physician's activity. A family risk scale, based at the SIAB program's filling card "A", was elaborated in order to establish priorities at the visiting. This scale is based on sentinels that are seem when the first visiting is made by the Health Agent Professional (ACS). It was applied to distinct communities and microareas, showing family's graduation risk 1,2 or 3 in different proportions. The results points the relation "inhabitant vs room" as na important data in the evaluation of the risk, and the successful application of the scale as an instrument to determine priorities, both in the house visiting process, as in the health staff resources. The scale showed to be a simple and efficient instrument of analysis of the family's risk, without creating any new filling cards or burocratic stuff. The authors suggest that only the systematic use of the risk scale the Coelho Scale - as an instrument to reorganize the assistance, and posterior evaluation of it's impact at the community, can corroborate the applicability of it to the Family Physician's practice.