Characteristics of chronic diseases in families from the northern region of Maringá, state of Paraná : a first approach - DOI: 10.4025/actascihealthsci.v26i1.1620

Abstract

This work aims to identify some characteristics of chronic patients' families living in the northern area of the municipal district of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. All data were collected from the families record files used by Programa Saúde da Família (Family Health Program). At the data collection time, 23,668 families lived in that region and 31,1% of them lived with the chronic disease of one of its members daily. The data reveal that: the most frequent chronic diseases are: hypertension, tobacco addiction, diabetes and alcoholism; most of the chronic patients’ families are of nuclear type (73.6%), constituted of up to 4 people (70.6%); the patient is often the mother (40%) or the father (38%); and almost half of them (45.1%) have a family income up to 3 minimum wages. The chronic patients' family characteristics constitute important information for the health care system in terms of planning and implementing aid politics.