Absenteísmo de usuários: barreiras e determinantes no acesso aos serviços de saúde

Introduction: absence of patients in health services is a phenomenon that impacts health care. Objective: To identify the available scientific evidence about the possible causes of users’ absenteeism to health services. Methods: This study analyzed 34 publications, classified in three thematic units: access barriers; impact of services as determinant of users’ health; conditioning factors and facilitators of access. Results: Facing absenteeism requires understanding social inequalities, requires knowledge about the organization of health services, social determinants and relationships that occur between groups in the social context. Conclusions: The main reasons for absenteeism are preventable and may be beneficiaries of interventions for the improvement of health services. Knowledge of the barriers and determinants of access allows us to understand the possible causes of absenteeism and its consequences, in order to support decisions that allow the correction or minimization of risks and economic losses in the administration of public health services.