Undergraduate programs for health professionals in Brazil: an analysis from 1991 to 2008

Study conducted to support the planning and implementation of public policies on human health resources. Fourteen undergraduate health courses were analyzed: biomedicine, biological sciences, physical education, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, speech and language therapy, medicine, veterinary medicine, nutrition, dentistry, psychology, social work and occupational therapy between 1991 and 2008. Data on number of students admitted, college admission rates, rates of graduating student by inhabitant, gender, geographic area and family income were collected from the Brazilian Ministry of Education database. For medicine undergraduate programs there were 40 applicants per place at public institutions and 10 at private ones. Most students admitted were females. The Southeast region concentrated 57% of graduating students. The study revealed trends that indicates opportunity inequalities in the regional distribution of health professional education, thus supporting the need for policies aimed at reducing such inequalities.