Characteristics of consultation and mothers' satisfaction in primary care for children under 5 years of age, Fortaleza, Brazil

The scope of this study is to describe aspects related to the dimensions of access, the service characteristics and factors associated with satisfaction of mothers in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará. It is an observational, cross-sectional population-based study conducted in 2008 in Fortaleza, Ceará. Families with at least one child under 5 years of age living at home and who were users of the Unified Health System (SUS) were included, The Pearson chi-square test, and when appropriate the Fisher exact test, were used for the statistical associations. The study included 350 families. Most reasons given for the consultation was sickness and on a larger scale, performed by physicians; 2/3 of mothers reported having been satisfied with the last service received by the child. The main factors associated with satisfaction were: the doctors who treated the mother/child called them by name, the service was given on the day that the mother needed and the waiting room of the unit had entertainment. Access to primary care was well evaluated. The satisfaction of users is related to the relationship established with health professionals, however the organization of the service and infrastructure of the units are still considered weak points.