The objective of this study was to demonstrate the importance of the practi
cal application of the concept of reproductive health in Sao Paulo, Brazil,
from 1991 to 1998 at the Perola Byington Hospital with a new model of Prim
ary Health Care (PHC) in which 2000 women/day, separated into two groups an
d over 45 years, was attended by nurses trained to detect the most frequent
ly occurring gynecological problems supervised by doctors, who finalized th
e visit of each patient. The results demonstrated the advantages and viabil
ity of this strategy and also the bad health conditions of the women. Based
on the high incidence of different kind of diseases detected, programs wer
e set up for the diagnosis and treatment of gynecological cancer, STD, AIDS
, hypertension, diabetes, etc. The results of two of these control programs
, cervical cancer and breast cancer, demonstrated a significant increase in
the diagnosis of early lesions. An economic study demonstrated an obvious
and significant impact of this model not only in saving lives, but also in
decreasing financial expenses in health. (C) 2000 International Federation
of Gynecology and Obstetrics.