LONGITUDINAL COMMUNITY DIABETES MELLITUS SCREENING STRATEGY: AN EXPERIENCE IN BRAZILIAN PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM

Introduction and Objectives: The identification of subpopulations at risk or with established chronic diseases is a fundamental aspect of the Family Health Strategy. Based on this, Brazilian Health Ministry has established criteria for diabetes mellitus (DM) screening in asymptomatic individuals. According to data from the Brazilian research PNAD 2008 (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostras de Domicílios), the prevalence of DM in people with ages over 15 was 5% in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), a Brazilian southern state. However, 1.94% of diabetics were observed by the Family Health Team of Pinhal Alto in the city of Nova Petrópolis, countryside of RS with population over 2,000. This experience aimed to clarify if this population had, in fact, less diabetics than expected or if this health team had not diagnosed all the diabetics of its population. Methods: Between June 2009 and June 2015, community health agents received a folder with the screening criteria for DM and oriented the population who fit the criteria to do the hemoglucotest in a nurse appointment. Depending on the result, the patient was oriented to repeat the test in 1 to 3 years or visit a doctor to confirm and treat the DM. Results and Conclusion: With this strategy, the prevalence of DM in the aforementioned population rose and achieved 5,07% in 2015. Therefore, this experience suggests that, combining the attributes of Primary Health Care with epidemiologic local data, longitudinal community diabetes mellitus screening strategies could be implemented for asymptomatic patients without a diagnosis.