Evaluability of the Brazilian Regulatory Policy within the SUS: a preliminary proposal

Abstract

Evaluability studies allow determining the purposes of the policy and the evaluation focus, assisting a thorough understanding and prior appreciation of the possibilities of policy evaluation. Thus, this article analyzes the evaluability of the Brazilian Regulatory Policy, from January to May of 2018, with an exploratory and qualitative approach, in order to define how this policy can be evaluated and the elaboration of the logical and theoretical models of evaluation, according to the seven-element system by Thurston and Ramaliu. The results contributed to a better understanding of the structure and operationalization of the policy to reach their results and impacts on health. However, the Policy has many components and activities, so it is difficult to elaborate indicators and a global policy assessment matrix. It is suggested a cut of the policy for an evaluation process. The Brazilian Regulatory Policy was published 10 years ago but any proposal to evaluate it has been submitted. It is known that regulation in the health sector brings numerous challenges, and it requires a proposal of evaluation that goes beyond the dimensions of efficiency and equity, including the training and activities of health professionals, accessibility to health services and health technology assessment.

Keywords:
health evaluation; health policies; healthcare coordination and monitoring; health system