Qualidade no sistema público de saúde: avaliação do cenário paraibano

Abstract

This study aimed to develop an instrument for measuring the quality and performance of the public health system. The study takes part in the field of Public Management, but it also covers Hospital and Health Administration. The preliminary analysis of the studies carried out shows the problems in the management of the several health systems in the world. The Brazilian system faces great difficulty in balancing resources and expenses to offer a quality service to the population. It was observed a large shortage of management tools of the Brazilian public health system, SUS. The literature revision has identified more than 400 indicators as potentially useful for measuring quality and performance of the health system. By filling out forms, health management specialists` opinions were used to qualify and reduce the number of indicators. Using a measurement scale construction methodology, a quality index of the public health system was proposed based on the cities of Paraíba. The index is made up of five statistically validated indicators. It was applied to build a quality ranking of the public health system of the Paraiban municipalities. The study discusses the different aspects of World health systems and proposes indicators associated with health quality. It also relates the quality of public health to the municipal Human Development Index. The research contributed to the area as it offers a simple and easy-to-use measurement tool that can assist managers, at different government levels, in decision-making to allocate resources and develop strategies. The index still has the potential to be automated and deployed in Internet portal, contributing to the transparency of information to the public.