Role of Primary Health Care teams in rapid testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections

ABSTRACT

This research aims at describing the professional practices of Primary Health Care teams regarding rapid tests for STDs. It follows a descriptive study under a quantitative approach; participants include 18 municipalities, 94 Basic Health Units, and 100 staff teams working on Family Health Strategies. The sample was composed of the managers and the staff members directly involved in the testing, while the variables included adhesion to the tests and factors regarding the testing process. Data collection was performed in loco through a semi-structured instrument. Rapid tests were offered by 93% of the teams, 78.5% offering the tests to any users. In 89.2% of the staff teams, the nurse was solely responsible for collecting tests; 55.9% of members did not feel confident about reporting on a positive result, while 63.1% of those who considered the community health agent the main form of outreach assessed their performance as inadequate. Treatment against syphilis accounts for 50.5%. There is fair adhesion to testing by part of the staff teams; the focus on the nurse, however, leads to an increase in their workload, highlighting their protagonism, leading to a reflection on professional practices and paving the way for different realities to be further investigated

KEYWORDS
Primary Health Care; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; HIV; Syphilis; Professional practice