Non-communicable chronic diseases: performance of medical care in Primary Health Care in southern Brazil

A cross-sectional study was performed to assess knowledge and performance on the prevention of risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) in adults, among primary care physicians in the urban health system in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The study included observation of 422 consultations by 61 physicians. 58.8% of the patient consultations for CNCD and 25.3% of those for other reasons lacked any preventive recommendations and/or measurement of weight, height, and blood pressure. For patients with CNCD, the most frequent recommendations were weight loss, more physical activity, and reduced fat and salt intake. Among patients without CNCD, only 39.1% received any recommendations related to primary prevention. Physician performance for the prevention of CNCD was poor, and focused mainly on tertiary prevention (counseling patients who were already diagnosed with CNCD) as compared to primary prevention (preventing the incidence of CNCD).