Brazil's Programa Saúde da Familia
2016
This case study describes how scaled-up community-level primary healthcare in Brazil has reduced cardiovascular disease and infant deaths. Programa Saúde da Família (PSF) (“Family Health Program”) was launched in 1994 as a small pilot program that provided a decentralized free healthcare system, and has rapidly become the main strategy for Brazil’s entire national health system and the largest comprehensive, community-based primary healthcare program in the world. This case provides a snapshot of PSF as an example of a cost-effective program for early detection and management of chronic health ailments, which is particularly relevant as the epidemiologic transition challenges governments with weak health systems and limited healthcare coverage.
This case study is part of Millions Saved: New Cases of Proven Success in Global Health, a collection of case studies produced by the Center for Global Development that profiles 18 remarkable cases in which large-scale efforts to improve health in low- and middle-income countries succeeded, and 4 examples of promising interventions that fell short of their health targets when scaled-up in real world conditions. The cases featured on the website are shortened versions of the respective book chapters in the print edition.
Brazil's Programa Saúde da Familia
Source:
Glassman A, Temin M. Brazil’s Programa Saúde da Família. Millions Saved: New Cases of Proven Success in Global Health. Center for Global Development 2016. http://millionssaved.cgdev.org/case-studies/brazils-programa-saude-da-familia.