Use of primary care services by elderly people with chronic conditions, Brazil.

Objective: To assess the use of healthcare services by elderly individuals suffering from chronic diseases.

Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out with 2,889 individuals aged 65 years or more with chronic conditions - arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and mental illness -, living in catchment areas of primary care units in 41 cities of the South and Northeast regions of Brazil in 2005. The analyzed data were obtained in the baseline study of Programa de Expansão e Consolidação da Saúde da Família (Program for the Expansion and Consolidation of Family Health).

[Modifications in psychotropic drug use patterns in a Southern Brazilian city].

Objective: To assess the prevalence and patterns of psychotropic use by population and to compare the results with a study carried out in 1994.

Methods: This is a population-based cross-sectional study carried out in 2003 with 3,542 participants aged 15 or older who lived in an urban area in Southern Brazil. Two-week recall data were collected in household interviews through the same questionnaire used in the 1994 study.