Desigualdades de gêneros na busca por psicoterapia individual no sus em são paulo (2020-2024)

Differences in the number of individual psychotherapy visits recorded in Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS) by recorded sex constitute a relevant public health issue. This study aimed to compare the visits recorded for the female and male groups in the SUS in the state of São Paulo between 2020 and 2024. This quantitative, comparative, retrospective study was based on public data from the SUS Outpatient Information System (SIA/SUS), made available by DataSUS. The data were grouped by recorded sex, year, and age group for individuals aged 20 to 59 years, resulting in 20 aggregated observations per group. Descriptive analyses were performed, and Student’s t test for independent samples was applied. The female group had a higher number of visits in every age group, totaling 32,993 records, compared with 17,483 in the male group. Comparison of the mean aggregated counts indicated a statistically significant difference, t(38) = −4.46, p < 0.001. The annual total increased from 5,879 visits in 2020 to 15,417 in 2024, with a decrease in 2023. The difference between groups can be discussed in light of the literature on gender norms, but the available data do not allow the factors that produced it to be determined.