Counter-referral: strategy for continuity of care in the health of women and newborns

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate counter-referral as a strategy for the continuity of care of women and newborns from a usual-risk maternity hospital to primary health care. Methods: qualitative study developed in a usual-risk maternity and in health units in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Data collection period was between September and November 2020 with nurses from the health units and women who had counter-referral discharge from the maternity hospital. After content analysis, the speeches were divided into themes and subthemes predefined by the theoretical framework adopted, which provides for three categories of continuity of care and their respective dimensions. Results: eight nurses and six puerperal women participated. Twenty-six strata emerged from the interviews. Highlights, in the Informational category, the dimension “the use of information obtained by counter-referral for continuity of care”; in the Relational category, the dimension “the importance of professional-patient bonding”, and in the Managerial category, “the use of network mechanisms for effective care”. Conclusion: the counter- referral was evidenced as a strategy for continuity of care by the two groups investigated, capable of providing support to promote efficient care for puerperal women. However, there is a need to optimize standardized counter-referral instruments, making the process effective in the health network.