PURPOSE:
to evaluate the accessibility to speech-language pathologist in service of mean complexity of Recife.
METHODS:
evaluative study with triangulation of information sources conducted in February-October2011. Participants were 38 children less than ten years old, the speech-language pathologist and two employees from the Medical File Service (MFS). Three questionnaires (children' accompanying, professional and MFS employees) were elabored based on the referential of Donabedian. The children were compared according to Family Health Unit registration using chi-square and Fisher's exact test.
RESULTS:
the professional attended three times per week during shift. MFS offered 17 vacancies to the population of the district during January-October2011. A systematically rejection of demand occurred, according to the professional and employees. Of all children, 73.7% were boys, 73.7% were 5-9 years old and 94.7% were diagnosed at polyclinic. First consultation, 89.5% were conducted by a physician; 76.3% had appointments made by MFS, 63.9% arrived at dawn (the median waiting time was 4and a half hours); 83.3% made appointments at first attempt, 22.2% had difficulties and 76.3% waited until 15 days for attendance. A trend of great difficulty for appointments for registered ones (p=0.069), causing dissatisfaction. Professional set a return date. Geographic accessibility, 68.4% were satisfactory and had greater dissatisfaction when registered.
CONCLUSIONS
:despite the limitations in the consulting offers, making appointments and coordinating actions most children did not find it difficult to be attended by speech-language pathologist. The disparity between organizational conditions and absence of major barriers to enter suggests that this behavior represent no pattern of organizational accessibility in the assessed service.
Health Services Accessibility; Health Systems; Communication; Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
