This study aimed to describe the demographic and epidemiological characteristics of the elderly population, identify the area of influence of basic care in relation to the area of residence of the elderly and the rate of service use, as well as to map the demand according to the geographic location of the Basic Care Unit. The sample comprised 6,964 male and female subjects aged 60 years or more, who sought any of the outpatient public health services between May 2003 and April 2004. From this total, 64.1% were women and 35.9% men. The results show that cardiovascular diseases account for the greater part of medical consultations in the health system, with a mean of 3,576 consultations per year per elderly. Geographic mapping showed the demand for medical consultations in determinate basic care units to be related with the medical specialty available at these units. These results allow identifying the neighborhoods with the highest concentrations of specific diseases, indicating the need for insertion/redistribution of professionals between the basic care units in order to improve the quality of life of the elderly.
Public health; Population ageing; Outpatient clinic; Unified Health System
