Spatial analysis on tuberculosis and the network of primary health care

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the spatial distribution of new cases of tuberculosis compared to the location of the Primary Healthcare Units that performed the compulsory notification. Method: ecological study conducted in Belém, Pará, with 5,294 new cases of tuberculosis notified to Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação for the period from 2010 to 2014. The cases were georeferenced using the software applications ArcGis 10.2 and TerraView 4.2.2. The techniques of Kernel density and global Moran geostatistics were used. Results: the incidence of tuberculosis cases did not vary significantly between the years studied, however there was a variation in incidence between neighborhoods. Health units that exhibited higher number of notifications can suffer great influence of migration from nearby neighborhoods. Conclusion: the spatial dynamics of tuberculosis associated with health services allows to know the areas with increased risk of tuberculosis and the density of notifications of health units.