UBS census has full participation from Brazilian municipalities

The UBS (Basic Health Units) Census, coordinated by Ministry of Healthachieved full participation from Brazilian municipalities in its first phase. This is the first national survey of UBS since 2012 and seeks to understand changes in health standards and technological advances in Brazil.

The initiative, announced on Monday (6 August 2024), already has the questionnaire completed by 86.6% of municipalities (around 3,500 cities), covering 95.2% of UBS (around 48 thousand health centers).

The project has the participation of Conassfrom the Abrascoof the CNS (National Health Council), Oops (Pan American Health Organization), Ipea (Institute of Applied Economic Research), and the APS Network (Primary Health Care Research Network), in addition to the academic community.

The Secretary of Primary Health Care, Felipe Proenço, spoke about the importance of participation for an accurate diagnosis of the health system. He asked managers to complete their responses by August 16, through the website: https://egestoraps.saude.gov.br/.

Census participation demonstrated engagement in all regions, with the North leading the way. The capital Salvador (BA) stood out as one of the first capitals to reach 100% participation.

The South Region, which has the majority of municipalities affected by historic rains, has been extended the deadline for completing the questionnaires until September 30.

The next steps will take place until June 2025 and include data analysis, report preparation and validation, and communication of results. Here is the schedule:

2024 (August to December)

• extension of the deadline and mobilization for responses;
• preliminary analysis of the database;
• analysis and preparation of the preliminary report with information from the UBS Census.

2025 (January to June)

• preparation of Public Reports;
• validation of reports with Conass, Conasems and CNS;
• start of publication of reports on official platforms following a specific schedule of the dimensions of the UBS Census;
• communication of results to society and stakeholders;
• preparation of microdata;
• publication of microdata on official platforms;
• making data available to researchers and the general public;
• technical support and clarification of doubts;
• continuous assessment of impact and user feedback.