Cluster analysis as a tool for management improvement in the SUS

Abstract

The institutionalization of health services evaluation tools is a strategic challenge for the development of the Brazilian National Health System (SUS). The aim of the study was to explore the potential of cluster analysis as a technical tool to support the SUS management. Steps for constructing clusters applied to a concrete reality are presented and discussed, by analyzing a type of health care emergency services (AMA), in Sao Paulo city. The strategy was based on using secondary data to construct homogeneous groups, which allows multivariate analysis, enhancing the interpretation of the relationship between these data. The study findings indicate that this technique has the potential to be used by institutional actors in the SUS management to evaluate and to monitor health services in big cities or health regions.