Estratégia Saúde da Família, saúde suplementar e desigualdade no acesso à mamografia no Brasil

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between access to mammography and coverage by private health insurance or by the public healthcare system through the Family Health Strategy (FHS). METHOD: An ecological study was performed with data obtained from the Unified Health System Data Processing Department (DATASUS). Time trends were analyzed using the Prais-Winsten method, having the Brazilian federal units as units of analysis. Multiple linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between the dependent variable – women aged 50 to 69 years who never had a mammogram – and the independent variables (coverage by the FHS or private health care and socioeconomic aspects). RESULTS: Acre was the only Brazilian state for which an increasing growth trend in private health care was not observed. Roraima, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Paraíba showed a stable trend for FHS coverage, whereas all other federal units had increasing coverage. A significant association was observed between never having had a mammogram at 50 to 69 years of age and the variables mean per capita income and FHS and private health care coverage (R(2) = 0.77; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Unequal access to mammography is a reality in Brazil. Both private health care and the FHS have contributed to improve health care accessibility for Brazilian women.