Architectural and communications barriers to access to primary health care in Brazil: an analysis based on the first national census of primary health care centers, 2012

to analyze the results of the National Census of Primary Health Care Centers with regard to architectural and communication barriers in Primary Health Care throughout Brazil. this was a cross-sectional study based on data from the first National Census of Primary Health Care Centers conducted between May and October 2012. the Northern region had the lowest rates of adequacy; although the Southeast region had the best rates when compared to the country's other regions, they were nevertheless unsatisfactory, since for many items adequacy was still below 50%; the items relating to accessibility by people with disabilities (5.7 to 34.2%) and/or the illiterate (0.1 to 27.4%) had very low scores. the majority of services evaluated had architectural and communication barriers, hindering access to health services by disabled, illiterate or elderly people; the importance of allocating resources to reduce iniquities and improve access is stressed.