Evaluation of Specialized Oral Health Procedures Performed in Brazil in the Period from 2008 to 2012

Objective: To analyze the correlations between the production of specialized dental procedures from 2008 to 2012 and factors related to the services and context of the Brazilian states. Material and Methods: A quantitative ecological-type study was developed, in which secondary data from Brazilian national databases were used. Procedures for outpatient production of specialized procedures throughout Brazil, from 2008 to 2012, were consolidated from the offering state, the state of the federation being the analysis unit. In order to collect data on coverage by oral health family teams in the Family Health Strategy, as well as the number of CEOs per state, the Strategic Support Management Room (SAGE) was accessed. The corresponding indicator mean proportion of specialized procedures in Brazil (Pmb) was used as dependent variable. Correlations were tested using Spearman's test. The software was Statistical Package for Social Sciences, v. 17.0, with a level of significance of 5%. Results: Pmb was 4.9% for the evaluated period. There was a negative correlation between indicator and the coverage of oral health teams in the family health strategy. Conclusion: The correlations analyzed were influenced by the organization and distribution of the professionals' workforce; revealing that the non-organization of the health care network may increase the performance of specialized procedures resulting from spontaneous demand due to the poor basic care coverage.

Need of Dental Prosthesis in Older People and the Offer of Specialized Care in the Unified Health System, Brazil

Objective: To analyze the offer of dental prosthesis by Centers of Dental Specialties (CEO) considering the need by individuals aged 65-74 years in state capitals and other regions of the country. Material and Methods: The study was conducted with data from the external evaluation of the Improving Access and Quality Program (AVE/PMAQ CEO) and with data from the SBBRASIL 2010 project. AVE / PMAQ CEO is an evaluative investigation using a cross-sectional research design, performed in all CEOs of Brazil, totaling 932 services evaluated. The analysis of data and distribution of CEOs that offered dental prosthesis was described by maps, using TabWin (DATASUS) and quantitative description of the following variables: need for total and partial dentures, CEO, Regional Prosthodontic Laboratories (RLDP), average monthly number of delivered prostheses and the proportion of capitals with RLDP, number of CEOs, RLDP and prostheses delivered per 100,000 inhabitants in state capitals and other regions. Results: Of the 5,570 municipalities in the country, 780 have CEO, mainly located on municipalities with larger populations. Most CEOs were located in the northeastern (38.3%) and southeastern regions of Brazil (36.2%) with the northern and mid-western regions presenting the lowest absolute number of units. Low offer of prostheses was observed, considering the high need of dentures, as well as an unequal distribution among Brazilian regions. A high percentage of older adults aged 65-74 years require total (74.6%) or partial (99.8%) prosthetic rehabilitation, more critical situation is observed in the northern and northeastern regions. Conclusion: The provision of dental services in CEOs is still limited and unevenly distributed, especially for PPR, compromising the universality and integrality of oral health care.

Clinical Analysis of Management Aspects of Centers for Dental Specialties

Objective: To evaluate the different management aspects of Centers for Dental Specialties (CEO) in Brazil. Material and Methods: Quantitative study with analysis of secondary data. The results of external evaluation of the first PMAQ-CEO cycle were considered, especially those related to planning and self-assessment, demand organization, work process, human resources as well as the availability of supplies/materials/dental equipment. The selected data were analyzed based on the calculation of proportions using the Microsoft Office Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) programs. Results: The planning of actions in CEOs is conducted in nearly 80% of units, with the participation of dental surgeons, receiving support, mainly, from the local dental health or state public manager. The access to CEO is given, mostly, in a referenced or mixed (referenced and spontaneous) form. Only 49% of CEOs offer permanent education actions for workers. The work management process has been guided by quality standards of PMAQ-CEO for 77% of managers. Conclusion: The study allowed perceiving the presence of an often shared management, on the CEO organization, on self-evaluation process, planning, demand organization and work process, as well as human resources and infrastructure, showing conformity with the Oral Health National Policy guidelines. However, the results show that some problems with regard to the evaluation as work routine and management of access to CEOs still persist, pointing to the need for further studies and effort of managers to overcome them.

A Web-Based Tool for Monitoring and Evaluating Health Care Services: An Analysis of Centers for Dental Specialties Webpage

Objective: To evaluate the quality of Centers for Dental Specialties (CEO) using an electronic tool - the CEO webpage. Material and Methods: Evaluative research was carried out through the use of a web-based tool, which has two modules with forms for the evaluation of quality of CEO components to Managers and Professionals. The tool generates classification scores and recommendation letters according to the score obtained. Satisfactory classification was used for scores equal to or above 7.0 and unsatisfactory for scores lower than 7.0. Representatives of manager and professionals of CEOs who attended the invitation of the research were qualified to use the CEO webpage. Portal data were analyzed in a descriptive way and the average scores were tested according to service and context variables. Results: Thirty-eight health facilities were evaluated. The average score for CEOs was rated as satisfactory for both the Manager and Professional modules. However, when quality components were evaluated, there was higher concentration of unsatisfactory scores to those related to the work process, particularly to the quality components of Personnel Management; Social control and Financing; and, Organizational Criteria. Conclusion: The CEO webpage, for instantly generating evaluation and recommendations for change, is easy to handle and lacks minimal technological resources (computer with access to the internet network), has become a tool for information management that allows immediate decision making. In addition, they can make a major contribution to planning / management support in identifying critical aspects of the service that impair quality, with strong potential to serve as supplementary institutional support to PMAQ / CEO. Initiatives such as the CEO webpage should be encouraged and disseminated for use within Unified Health System.

Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of the External Evaluation of the Improvement, Access and Quality of Centers for Dental Specialties Program

Objective: To introduce the main theoretical and methodological aspects of the external evaluation of the 1st cycle National Program for Quality Evaluation (AEPMAQ/ CEO). Material and Methods: This is an evaluative and quantitative research carried out in all Centers for Dental Specialties - CEO of Brazil, and macro-geographical regions were taken into account for analysis. The general AE-PMAQ/CEO coordination was from the Collaborative Centre for Oral Health Surveillance of the Ministry of Health - Federal University of Pernambuco and Department for Primary Health Care of the Ministry of Health. A collaborative network was established to offer a scientific and technical support for the Project among different higher education institutions around the country, state oral health coordination and quality researchers of AE-PMAQ/CEO. Data collection was carried out through interviews with managers, dentists and users. In addition, researchers used an observation template to check for infrastructure and a questionnaire to register previously discussed quality standards. Conclusion: The external evaluation of the 1st cycle National Program for Quality Evaluation offered data to demonstrate and give recognition to CEO services and municipalities' managers to assure quality for specialized dental care.

The Regulation of Services in Secondary Oral Health Care in Brazil

Objective: To analyze the regulation of access to Centers for Dental Specialties (CEO) in the 1st cycle of Program for Improving Access and Quality of Centers for Dental Specialties (PMAQ-CEO), specifically the waiting time for the first consultation in association with socioeconomic and demographic factors of users and the characteristics of services. Material and Methods: The quantitative database of the 1st cycle PMAQCEO external evaluation was used, with question directed to the CEO user (Module III - 3.1 and 3.2), which sought to identify user characteristics and access to CEO. To obtain data, a field phase was carried out between months of February to June 2014 in 930 CEOs in all Brazilian states. Results: Users who obtained the first appointment within thirty days of waiting were those who had family incomes above 10 minimum wages; which showed higher schooling; appointment scheduling by telephone made directly to the CEO; and that the consultation was accomplished by "squeeze in" option. Conclusion: It was observed that aspects related to schooling, family income and primary health care coverage influence the waiting time to obtain the first consultation in CEO. There were several ways of referencing of users, and those who performed better were those who shared accountability for the appointments between service and user.