Physical accessibility in primary healthcare: a step towards the embracement

To assess the physical accessibility from the front desk of primary healthcare units.

Descriptive and quantitative research to map the accessibility of the physical space in 157 health units, between August 2014 and May 2015, in the region of Baturité, Ceará, Brazil. The data were collected using a checklist instrument type, and absolute and relative frequencies, binomial and verisimilitude tests for statistical analysis, with statistical significance of p <0.05 were used.

Of the analyzed items, stairs (24.8%), ramps (47.1%) and floors (75.8%) were inaccessible in most health units. Comparing urban and rural areas, circulation area (0.7x, p=0.293), counter (0.4x, p=0.010), seat (0.7x, p=0.758) and drinking fountain (0.7x, p=0.736) were more inaccessible in the urban area.

The access of persons with physical disabilities to primary care should be seen as a priority. There are physical, architectural and furniture barriers that compromise the full embracement of the user.