Impact of primary care coverage on individual health: evidence from biomarkers in Brazil

Fernando Antonio Postali and Maria Dolores M Diaz, Adriano Dutra Teixeira, Natalia Nunes Ferreira Batista, Rodrigo Moreno Serra
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Maria Dolores Montoya Diaz and Rodrigo Moreno-Serra ()

No 2021_01, Working Papers, Department of Economics from University of São Paulo (FEA-USP)

Abstract: This paper explores the relationship between primary care coverage and individual health in Brazil, using a dataset of blood and nurse-based biomarkers collected during a national health survey carried out in 2013. Both survey data and laboratory results were crossed with coverage data from the Family Health Strategy (ESF), the largest and most important primary care program in Brazil. The coverage measures aim to capture both direct (household) and indirect (spillover) effects. The empirical strategy uses a probit model to estimate the relationship between ESF coverage and the likelihood of abnormal biomarker levels, controlling for the local availability of health facilities and a rich set of individual and household characteristics coming from the national survey. The results suggest that broader ESF household coverage is linked to a decrease in the likelihood of abnormal results for biomarkers related to anemia, kidney failure and arterial hypertension, as well as for white blood cells and thrombocytes. Intensity of coverage matters for dengue, once its antibodies are negatively correlated with the number of ESF visits received by the household. The spillover effect proved to be relevant for kidney failure, diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension. Cholesterol did not present any relationship with ESF.

Keywords: Primary care; Biomarkers; Probit; Impact evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C13 C31 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-02-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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