OBJECTIVE:
to describe the prevalence and characteristics of health service use by adolescents in the urban area of Pelotas-RS, Brazil.
METHODS:
a population-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 743 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years; the outcome was health service use in the thirty days preceding the interview.
RESULTS:
of the total sample, 23.0% (95%CI: 19.4;26.6) used health services; of these, 38% used private or health plan services and 32.2% used public health services; the SUS financed more than half (52.1%) of care; the main reasons for health service use was health problems (69.0%) and follow-up appointments (18.7%); the reasons for choosing the service were nearness to home (23.4%), preference for commonly used services (22.8%) and choice made by parents or guardians (21.1%).
CONCLUSION:
health service use was high and its characteristics can contribute to the planning of adolescent health care.
Adolescent; Primary Health Care; Health Services; Epidemiology, Descriptive; Health Inequalities
