Integrated regional health management and planning in the SUS: analysis of government capacity in a health region in the state of Bahia

Abstract

This article aimed to analyze the degree of implementation of regional planning, considering care flows for cervical cancer as a defining condition, in a health region of the SUS in Bahia. This is an evaluative study, evaluating the implementation of regionalized health planning, based on a case study of the Vitória da Conquista Health Region (RSVC), state of Bahia. Twenty-nine interviews were carried out with managers and representatives of the Regional Intermanagers Commission (CIR) and 103 documents were analyzed. The evaluation matrix supported the measurement of the level of planning implementation by the municipalities, considered incipient, with three municipalities showing an intermediate level (M1, M2, and M3); only M4 reached an advanced grade. The political nature of persistent decision-making was observed, neglecting technical analysis and, consequently, not favoring access monitoring actions, which were punctual, and reducing the capacity for control and negotiation with private service providers. The challenges of management, systemic organization, and regional political context were decisive for the incipient implementation of planning given the incoherence between institutions and characteristics unfavorable to inter-municipal integration, making strategic actions necessary to strengthen the capacity for integrated planning between municipalities.

Keywords:
Health Planning; Health Evaluation; Regionalization; Regional development; Health Policy; Uterine neoplasms