Access to healthcare information and comprehensive care: perceptions of users of a public service

The aim of this study was to identify the perceptions of patients at a healthcare service regarding the right to information and comprehensive care. This was a qualitative, exploratory investigation with an analytical descriptive orientation, for which the theoretical axis was the right to health-related information access and comprehensive care. The following categories were constructed: difficulties in achieving humanized healthcare in a primary unit; depersonalization of professional/patient relationships; gaps in physical and human infrastructure of the service; and interpersonal relationships among the different players in the care process. Access to information constitutes a central aspect of promotion of comprehensive healthcare. To be able to provide this adequately, it is important to make professionals aware of the importance of user empowerment, so as to make users the protagonists of care and have them as allies in the care process.