Deaths without medical assistance in the Northeast region from 2019 to 2023

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17267/2317-3378rec.2025.e6182

Keywords:

Death, Cause of Death, Medical Assistance, Health Services Accessibility

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the profile of deaths without medical care in the Northeast region from 2019 to 2023. METHOD: This is an ecological descriptive time series study, consulted in the Mortality Information System (SIM), made available by the Departamento de Informática of the Sistema Único de Saúde (DATASUS). The variables selected for analysis were: sex, location (states and capitals of the Northeast region), age group, color/race, education, marital status and place of occurrence. RESULTS: Between the years 2019 to 2023, there were 14,151 deaths without medical care, with a reduction over the period. The year with the highest number of deaths recorded was 2020, with 3,866 deaths. The distribution of deaths varied among the federative units of the Northeast region, with a predominance in Bahia (4,586; 32.4%). Deaths were predominantly recorded in males (8,083; 57.1%), in people aged ≥ 80 years (6,467; 45.7%), self-declared brown race/color (9,128; 64.5%), and in those with no years of schooling (5,844; 41.3%). The main place of death was at home (12,344; 87.2%). CONCLUSION: Mortality due to lack of medical care in the Northeast region, although it has shown a reduction, is still high, which suggests the need for measures to increase the capacity for diagnosis and health treatment to reduce deaths from this cause.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1. Siqueira MEC, Mergulhão LMR, Pires RFS, Jordán APW, Barbosa LNF. Attitude to death and opinion of medical students on the top training. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2022;46(4):e140. https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-5271v46.4-20210459

2. Montez JK, Bisesti EM. Widening educational disparities in health and longevity. Annu Rev Sociol. 2024;50:547-64. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-071723-080605

3. Dantas MNP, Souza DLB, Souza AMG, Aiquoc KM, Souza TA, Barbosa IR.Factors associated with poor access to health services in Brazil. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2021;24:e210004. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-549720210004

4. Ishitani LH, Teixeira RA, Abreu DMX, Paixão LMMM, França EB. Quality of mortality statistics’ information: garbage codes as causes of death in Belo Horizonte, 2011-2013. Rev Bras Epidemiol [Internet]. 2017;20:34-45. Available from: https://www.scielosp.org/pdf/rbepid/2017.v20suppl1/34-45

5. Santo AH. Bridge-coding between revisions of the International Classification of Diseases: causes of death. Rev Saúde Pública. 2000;34(1):21-8. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102000000100005

6. Souza LEPF, Paim JS, Teixeira CF, Bahia L, Guimarães R, Almeida-Filho N, et al. The current challenges of the fight for a universal right to health in Brazil. Cien Saude Colet. 2019;24(8):2783-92. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232018248.34462018

7. Oliveira LGF, Fracolli LA, Araújo SS, Gryschek ALFPL, Silva GL, Lico FMC, et al. Acesso e uso equitativo dos serviços de saúde: um desafio para a promoção da universalização em saúde [Internet]. In: Acesso à saúde: desafios, perspectivas, soluções e oportunidades na atenção primária à saúde. São Carlos: Pedro & João Editores; 2023. 113–125. Available from: https://repositorio.usp.br/item/003144334

8. Calazans JA, Guimarães R, Nepomuceno MR. Diferenciais regionais da mortalidade no Brasil: contribuição dos grupos etários e de causas de óbito sobre a variação da esperança de vida e da dispersão da idade à morte entre 2008 e 2018. Rev Bras Estud Popul. 2023;40:e0244. https://doi.org/10.20947/S0102-3098a0244

9. Balieiro PCS, Silva LCF, Sampaio VS, Monte EX, Pereira EMS, Queiroz LAF, et al. Factors associated with unspecified and ill-defined causes of death in the State of Amazonas, Brazil, from 2006 to 2012. Cien Saude Colet. 2020;25(1):339-52. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232020251.27182017

10. Rodrigues NCP, Daumas RP, Almeida AS, O'Dwyer G, Andrade MKN, Flynn MB, et al. Risk factors for the ill-defined causes of death in the Brazilian states: a multilevel analysis. Cien Saude Colet. 2018;23(11):3979-88. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320182311.27182016

11. Faria M, Camargo M, Aguillar A, Tasca R. Estimativa de Recursos Necessários para Ampliação da Estratégia Saúde da Família [Internet]. Estudo Institucional n. 8. Rio de Janeiro: Instituto de Estudos para Políticas de Saúde; 2022. Available from: https://ieps.org.br/estudo-institucional-08/

12. Barbiani R, Nora CRD, Schaefer R. Nursing practices in the primary health care context: a scoping review. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2016;24:e2721. https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.0880.2721

13. Ministério da Saúde (Brasil). Departamento de Informática do SUS (DATASUS). Tabnet [Internet]. Ministério da Saúde; 2024. Disponível em: https://datasus.saude.gov.br/

14. Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Brasil). Economia da Saúde: Equidade e Desigualdade em Saúde [Internet]. Brasília: IPEA; 2019. Available from: https://repositorio.ipea.gov.br/handle/11058/16244

15. Guimarães NS, Carvalho TML, Machado-Pinto J, Lage R, Bernardes RM, Peres ASS, et al. Increased Home Death Due to Cardiopulmonary Arrest in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021;116(2):266-71. https://doi.org/10.36660/abc.20200547

16. Sallas J, Elidio GA, Costacurta GF, Frank CHM, Rohlfs DB, Pacheco FC, et al. Decrease in compulsory notifications registered by the Brazilian National Hospital Epidemiological Surveillance Network during the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive study, 2017-2020. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2022;31(1):e2021303. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-49742022000100011

17. Miranda WD, Silva GDM, Fernandes LMM, Silveira F, Sousa RP. Health inequalities in Brazil: proposed prioritization to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Cad Saude Publica. 2023;39(4):e00119022. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311XPT119022

18. Mackenbach JP, Valverde JR, Bopp M, Brønnum-Hansen H, Costa G, Deboosere P, et al. Progress against inequalities in mortality: register-based study of 15 European countries between 1990 and 2015. Eur J Epidemiol. 2019;34(12):1131-42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-019-00580-9

19. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brasil). Censo Demográfico 2022. População e domicílios: primeiros resultados [Internet]. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2023. Available from: https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/index.php/biblioteca-catalogo?view=detalhes&id=2102011

20. Santo AH. Causas mal definidas de morte e óbitos sem assistência. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 2008;54(1):23-8. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-42302008000100016

21. Gomes R, Moreira MCN, Nascimento EF, Rebello LEFS, Couto MT, Schraiber LB. Men don’t come! Absence and/or invisibility in primary healthcare services. Cien Saude Colet. 2011;16:983-92. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232011000700030

22. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brasil). Censo Demográfico 2022. População por idade e sexo: pessoas de 60 anos ou mais de idade [Internet]. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2023. Available from: https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/index.php/biblioteca-catalogo?view=detalhes&id=2102038

23. Dunk CPS, Queiroz RCS, Portela YMC, Tonello AS, Branco MRFC. Ill-defined causes of death in an elderly population of a state in the brazilian northeas. Braz J Dev. 2020;6(3):1-9. https://doi.org/10.34117/bjdv6n3-488

24. Romero DE, Muzy J, Castanheira D, Marques AP, Souza NA. Home deaths of older people in the city of Rio de Janeiro during the Coronavirus pandemic, 2020. Rev Bras Geriatr Gerontol. 2021;24(1):e200316. https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-22562020024.200316

25. Pereira VM, Barbosa PMK, Lopes VRS. Necropsia médico-legal em idosos: causas jurídicas e médicas de mortalidade. Rev Nursing [Internet]. 2018;21(246):2465-70. Available from: https://www.revistanursing.com.br/index.php/revistanursing/article/view/210/496

26. Barreto ML. Health inequalities: a global perspective. Cien Saude Colet. 2017;22(7):2097-108. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232017227.02742017

27. Amaral PFF, Oliveira GS, Bitencourt EL, Reis Júnior PM. Perfil epidemiológico das mortes por causas mal definidas: uma análise comparativa entre os estados da região norte do Brasil de 2010 a 2017. Rev Patol Tocantins. 2020;7(2):89-93. https://doi.org/10.20873/uft.2446-6492.2020v7n3p88

28. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brasil). Censo 2022: pela primeira vez, desde 1991, a maior parte da população do Brasil se declara parda [Internet]. Agência de Notícias IBGE; 2023. Available from: https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br/agencia-noticias/2012-agencia-de-noticias/noticias/38719

29. Ferreira S, Porto D. Mysthanasia x Quality of life. Rev Bioét. 2019;27(2):191-5. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-80422019272000

30. Barbosa JS, Tartaro L, Vasconcelos LDR, Nedel M, Serafini JF, Svirski SGS, et al. Assessment of incompleteness of Mortality Information System records on deaths from external causes in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 2000-2019. Epidemiol Serv Saude. 2023;32(2):e2022301. https://doi.org/10.1590/S2237-96222023000200006

Published

09/08/2025

Issue

Section

Original Articles

How to Cite

1.
Santos CO, Brito YP de M, Palmeira CS. Deaths without medical assistance in the Northeast region from 2019 to 2023. Rev Enf Contemp [Internet]. 2025 Sep. 8 [cited 2025 Dec. 5];14:e6182. Available from: https://journals.bahiana.edu.br/index.php/enfermagem/article/view/6182