The access of the riverside population in the Amazon region to emergency health care: a narrative review

Background: The riverside dwellers are a marginal population that lives around the Amazon River in Brazil. They go through many barriers in order to access emergency health care services, and overcoming those barriers is essential to promote equal access to emergency care for all Brazilian citizens....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Surgery 2022-08, Vol.65, p.S2-S2
Main Authors: Sampaio, Natália Zaneti, Faleiro, Matheus Daniel, Mendes, Anna Luiza, Ferreira, Rodrigo Vaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Emergency medical care
Population
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Summary:Background: The riverside dwellers are a marginal population that lives around the Amazon River in Brazil. They go through many barriers in order to access emergency health care services, and overcoming those barriers is essential to promote equal access to emergency care for all Brazilian citizens. The purpose of this narrative review was to examine and summarize studies about the barriers that riverside populations in the Amazon region have to access emergency health care services. Methods: Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA-ScR), we performed a comprehensive search in April 2022 through PubMed, BVS, Science-Direct, SciELO and Cochrane, using the following keywords: "riverside dwellers," "Amazon," and "emergency care." Results: The access to emergency care for riverside dwellers is limited, especially by geographical barriers. In Amazonas, 100% of intensive care unit beds, 97.7% of urgent and emergent care centres, and 76.1% of medical professionals are concentrated in the state's capital, Manaus. To access these services, 54.9% of the riverside population use small wooden boats. For example, the riverside citizens of Manaués sail an average of 60 km in 4.2 h to receive emergency care. The use of speedboats as ambulances is common, but there are not enough of them. Furthermore, there are many programs for improving the health care access of this population, but it needs to be amplified. With no sanitation, parasitosis affects 94.5% of this population. Also, when seeking care, the riverside dwellers don't differentiate between types of care, such as urgent/emergent care or obstetrical services, which causes an overload of the system. Conclusion: The main barriers to accessing health care among riverside dwellers are the transport; lack of specialized professionals; and weaknesses in assistance, supplies and educational actions. Overcoming these barriers is essential to promote equal access to emergency care for all Brazilian citizens.
ISSN:0008-428X
1488-2310