Learning from practice: enlightening the first-admission data of a Psychosocial Care Center for Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Universal admission is one of the mental healthcare guidelines, therefore the Psychosocial Care Centers for Children and Adolescents (CAPSij) in Brazil keep an open-door policy to guarantee the needs of users of the national Unified Health System (SUS). This study was developed as the product of the teaching-service integration formed by a mental healthcare institution, the CAPSij of Mariana town, and the School of Medicine of the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP). The aim was to descriptively analyze the first-admission data and contribute to the development of the work processes of the CAPSij. The study had a descriptive character, a quantitative approach and was carried out with information collected from the “Admission Notebook”, a resource for monitoring the demands that arrive at the unit created by the team members.  The study allowed to identify that the majority of the children and adolescents taken in are biologically male. The almost half of the individuals who reach out are non-referred. The most frequent presenting complaints are social behavior issues such as family conflicts, agitation, poor socialization, shyness, and behavioral changes. Second are depressive/isolation symptoms' category followed by school complaints, such as learning difficulties, reduced autonomy, lack of attention and poor academic performance. Considering the high number of non-referrals, CAPSij needs to improve actions with users and intersectoral partners such as schools, so that they obtain the appropriate care for each situation.  The use of admittance information recording tools promote health actions that are more compatible with the needs of users.