Abstract
This article is a review of the literature on the regionalization of healthcare, published in Brazilian journals indexed in the SciELO system.
Objective
to review the output and the use of the data to support managers in making decisions on the healthcare system, and analyze academic output on the theme.
Method
An online search of the SciELO database for articles using ‘regionalization’ and ‘health/healthcare’ as the keywords, and all indices as the ‘scope of the study’. We found a total of 102 references, and after analyzing the abstracts selected 70 articles that effectively discuss regionalization of health/healthcare in Brazil. We also found four articles in non-health related journals.
Analysis
the institutional criteria (journal, theme area, date of publication, scope and number of authors), and the analytical criteria created by author - Type 1 - “Exploratory Studies” (26), “Evaluation Studies” (6), “Comparison Studies” (3); and “Reports of Experience” (5), Type 2 - “Theoretical-Analytical” papers (20) and “Historical-Conceptual Reviews” (4), and Type 3 - “Editorials (3) and “Book Reviews” (3).
Findings
regionalization has become more important in journals published since 2010. Most of the articles fall in the Type 1 category.
Regionalization; Health/Healthcare planning; Networks; SUS