Revista CEFAC
https://revistacefac.org.br/article/doi/10.1590/1982-0216/202628210925
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Availability of Speech Therapy and Audiology in the Brazilian Unified Health System: An analysis of the offer of therapists and the production of services (2015 and 2019)

Disponibilidade da Fonoaudiologia no SUS: uma análise da oferta de profissionais e da produção de serviços no Brasil (2015 e 2019)

Maria Clara da Silva Santos; Gabriella Morais Duarte Miranda; Vanessa de Lima Silva; Maria Luiza Lopes Timóteo de Lima; Cynthia Maria Barboza do Nascimento; Mirella Bezerra Rodrigues Vilela

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216/202628210925 Revista CEFAC, vol.28, n2, e10925, 2026
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Abstract

Purpose: to analyze the availability of speech therapists and outpatient procedures performed by these therapists in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) in the years 2015 and 2019.

Methods: an ecological study was conducted, the units of analysis being municipalities grouped by population size and regions of Brazil. Data were used from the Outpatient Information System and the National Registry of Health Establishments from the years 2015 and 2019, measuring the quantity and amount paid for outpatient procedures performed by speech therapists and the number of such therapists working in the unified health system.

Results: increases were found in the availability of speech therapists working in the SUS and the number of procedures performed in all regions of the country. In these years, the highest indicators of procedures per capita were in municipalities with a large population and the type of procedures with the highest availability was that of therapeutic practice. The deficit of these therapists in the SUSUS was 36.4% in 2015, and 20.2% in 2019, corresponding to a shortage of 5,506 speech therapists to meet the needs of the SUS, in 2019. The largest deficits were in the North and Northeast regions in both years.

Conclusion: progress occurred in the availability of speech therapists and the procedures performed by these health professionals in the SUS. However, the need for therapists remains a challenge to be overcome, especially in the North and Northeast regions, so as to ensure the right to universal access to health care.

Keywords

Accessibility to Health Services; Speech-Language Pathology; Unified Health System; Health Information Systems

Resumo

Objetivo: analisar a disponibilidade de fonoaudiólogos e dos procedimentos ambulatoriais realizados por estes no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), entre os anos de 2015 e 2019.

Métodos: estudo ecológico, cujas unidades de análise foram os municípios, agregados por porte populacional, e as regiões do Brasil. Foram utilizados dados do Sistema de Informação Ambulatorial e do Cadastro Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Saúde, entre os anos 2015 e 2019, para mensurar a quantidade e o valor pago por procedimentos ambulatoriais executados por fonoaudiólogos, e o número de profissionais atuantes no SUS.

Resultados: houve aumento na disponibilidade de fonoaudiólogos atuantes no SUS e dos procedimentos realizados por eles, nas cinco regiões. Os maiores indicadores de procedimentos por habitantes foram nos municípios de grande porte populacional e o grupo de procedimentos com maior disponibilidade foi prática terapêutica. O déficit profissional no SUS foi de 36,4% e 20,2%, em 2015 e 2019, respectivamente, evidenciando falta de 5.506 fonoaudiólogos para suprir a necessidade do SUS, em 2019. Os maiores déficits foram no Norte e Nordeste, em ambos os anos.

Conclusão: houve evolução na disponibilidade de fonoaudiólogos e procedimentos por eles realizados no SUS. Todavia, o déficit de fonoaudiólogos permanece como um desafio a ser superado, sobretudo nas regiões Norte e Nordeste.

Palavras-chave

Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde; Fonoaudiologia; Sistema Único de Saúde; Sistemas de Informação em Saúde

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Submitted date:
02/10/2025

Accepted date:
29/12/2025

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