Physicians' job satisfaction and motivation in a public academic hospital.

BACKGROUND: Physician shortage is a global issue that concerns Brazil's authorities. The organizational structure and the environment of a medical institution can hide a low-quality life of a physician. This study examines the relationship between the hospital work environment and physicians' job satisfaction and motivation when working in a large public academic hospital. METHODS: The study was restricted to one large, multispecialty Brazil's hospital. Six hundred hospital physicians were invited to participate by e-mail. A short version of the Physician Worklife Survey (PWS) was used to measure working satisfaction. Physicians were also asked for socio-demographic information, medical specialty, and the intention to continue working in the hospital. RESULTS: Data from 141 questionnaires were included in the analyses. Forty-five physicians graduated from the hospital's university, and they did not intend to leave the hospital under any circumstance (affective bond). The motivating factor for beginning the career at the hospital and to continue working there were the connection to the medical school and the hospital status as a "prestigious academic hospital"; the physicians were more satisfied with the career than the specialty. Only 30% completely agreed with the statement "If I had to start my career over again, I would choose my current specialty," while 45% completely agreed with the statement "I am not well compensated given my training and experience." The greater point of satisfaction was the relationship with physician colleagues. They are annoyed about the amount of calls they are requested to take and about how work encroaches on their personal time. No significant differences between medical specialties were found in the analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The participants were satisfied with their profession. The fact that they remained at the hospital was related to the academic environment, the relationship with colleagues, and the high prestige in which society holds the institution. The points of dissatisfaction were inadequate remuneration and the fact that work invaded personal time. Routinely, there is a need for organizations to examine the impact of their structures, policies, and procedures on the stress and quality of life of physicians.

[Primary health care and urban dynamics in large cities in São Paulo State, Brazil]. / Atenção básica e dinâmica urbana nos grandes municípios paulistas, Brasil.

The Baseline Studies on the Project for Expansion and Consolidation of the Family Health Strategy created primary health care indicators and models for the 62 municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in São Paulo State, Brazil, and identified varying patterns for these indicators and models in relation to different urban dynamics in the State. The studies showed the need to reflect on health in relation to urban land use. The main objective was to gain a better understanding of how urban dynamics influence the health system's profile, organization, and operation, based on which it was possible to extract some hypotheses and discussions regarding how urbanization in São Paulo State creates challenges for the expansion and consolidation of primary health care and the Family Health Program in these municipalities.

[Health resort, industrial city: urban space and health policy in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil]. / Cidade sanatorial, cidade industrial: espaço urbano e política de saúde em São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brasil.

This study is part of the renewed theoretical and conceptual approach to space in health policies. The key potential of this approach lies in dealing with the organization of space as a product of relations between society and state power, influenced by the economy and enabled by politics. When understood as a social construction, such space provides the material basis for a historical narrative, allowing a better understanding of how policies are formulated and implemented in urban space. Based on this space, we investigate the policy governing the configuration of health services in the city of São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, during two different periods: the 1920s, in which the town became a health resort, and the early 1980s, when the municipal public health system was organized. A historical and geographic social reconstitution revealed both ambiguities and consistencies in a town whose health profile acquired the characteristics of an industrial city.

[Implementation of the Family Health Program and socio-spatial exclusion in the city of São Paulo, Brazil]. / Implantação do Programa Saúde da Família e exclusão sócio-espacial no Município de São Paulo, Brasil.

The present article analyzes the implementation of the Family Health Program (FHP) in São Paulo, Brazil, taking as its reference the occupation of the city's space, characterized by strong socio-spatial segregation. The population coverage and consolidation achieved by the FHP and the partner institutions' legal and institutional formats were identified in 96 Administrative Districts (AD). The study then proceeded to stratify these ADs beginning with their position in a ranked social exclusion map. ADs were classified in five groups. Based on these results, a typology was produced in the FHP implementation in this capital city of the State of São Paulo. Clearly distinct patterns were identified when the ADs were ranked for exclusion/inclusion. FHP implementation was effective within the peripheral ADs, especially those in Group 1, indicating pressure for the Municipal Health Secretariat to comply with its discourse, which had assumed the FHP as a health care model to be implemented throughout the city, at least reaching the entire low-income population.

[Public control and equity of access to hospitals under non-State public administration]. / Controle público e eqüidade no acesso a hospitais sob gestão pública não estatal.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze social health organizations in the light of public control and the guarantee of equity of access to health services. METHODS: Utilizing the case study technique, two social health organizations in the metropolitan region of São Paulo were selected. The analytical categories were equity of access and public control, and these were based on interviews with key informants and technical-administrative reports. RESULTS: It was observed that the overall funding and administrative control of the social health organizations are functions of the state administrator. The presence of a local administrator is important for ensuring equity of access. Public control is expressed through supervisory actions, by means of accounting and financial procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Equity of access and public control are not taken into consideration in the administration of these organizations. The central question lies in the capacity of the public authorities to have a presence in implementing this model at the local level, thereby ensuring equity of access and taking public control into consideration.

[Data and the process of formulating health policies]. / Informação e decisão política em saúde.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of the available information systems in decision-making process involving municipalities' health services, since technical scientific information is becoming an important tool for managers' decision-making both in the private and public sectors. METHODS: Four case studies were undertaken in the state of Sao Paulo between 1998 and 2000. The municipalities included in this study varied in size and in terms of the of complexity of their health systems. Research involved the use of both quantitative (survey of epidemic, demographic, economic-financial and social indicators) and qualitative methods (interviews with key actors and focus group). "Triangulation" was adopted in the analysis in order to establish an articulation among the diverse sources of data and methodological procedures utilized. RESULTS: The strategy of implementation of the Unified Health System (SUS) in itself implies in a pattern of consumption of information already available in large data banks within public institutions and local production of information concerning, primarily, the financial dimension of the city or district, whatever its size, the complexity of the local health system and the type of health administration. CONCLUSIONS: The information available on the data banks are, in general, considered outdated with respect to the immediate needs of local health managers. The equipment infrastructure and training of human resources in health data management were considered precarious for use in the decision-making process.

[Equity and health reforms in the 1990s]. / Eqüidade e reformas na saúde nos anos 90.

The first section of this article analyzes current issues on the agenda for research and debate in Brazilian Health Reform, from the perspective of social inclusion and exclusion. In light of the issues discussed initially, the second section analyzes the experience involving partnership between the public sector (the University Hospital at the School of Medicine, University of S o Paulo) and the Supplementary Health Care System (SSAM). The authors' hypothesis focuses on the depletion of the original set of ideals underlying the Brazilian Health Reform movement after the gains it obtained in the 1988 Constitution and in the face of the country's new reality, with the resulting need to recuperate the emphasis on the political dimension in health studies, highlighting the issue of constructing the identities of social stakeholders. Based on this initial approach, the authors proceed to analyze this partnership, demonstrating the existence of a "double waiting line" users of the Unified National Health System, or SUS, and those of the SSAM which does not imply discrimination per se in access to technology, but reproduces within the University Hospital the forms of discrimination that already exist in Brazilian society.

Healthcare regulatory concepts in Brazil.

The healthcare regulatory concepts used in Brazilian scientific publications on healthcare management were reviewed. A typo-logical classification for regulatory concepts was developed from the most current ideas in five disciplines: life sciences, law, economics, sociology and political science. Four ideas stood out: control, balance, adaptation and direction, with greatest emphasis on the technical nature of regulation. The political nature of regulation was secondary. It was considered that dis-cussion of healthcare regulatory concepts was connected with comprehension of the role that the state plays in this sector. De-finition of the forms of state intervention is the key convergence point between the different ways of conceptualizing healthcare regulation.

Regionalization and political dynamics of Brazilian health federalism.

The implications from the Brazilian federal structure on the regionalization of health actions and services in the National Unified Health System (SUS) were analyzed, considering that the regional health planning in Brazil takes place within the context of intergovernmental relations as an expression of cooperative federalism in health. The analysis was based on a historical approach to Brazilian health federalism, recognizing two development periods, decentralization and regionalization. Regional health planning of SUS was explored in light of the theoretical framework of federalism. It is concluded that relative centralization of the process is needed in intergovernmental committees to actualize federal coordination and that it is essential to consider formalizing opportunities for dissent, both in regional management boards and in the intergovernmental committees, so that the consensus decision-making can be accomplished in healthcare regionalization.

[Health social organizations as a way of public/private management]. / As organizações sociais de saúde como forma de gestão público/privado.

This work has as objective to analyze the implementation process of the Health Social Organizations (OSS), in the State of São Paulo, focusing the role played by factors as administrative and financial autonomy, direction proposed by the Management Contract and the use of instruments and innovative management practices, as factors that give condition to the gain of efficiency of these OSS facing the Direct Administration units (AD). The adopted approach was the Comparative Study, which proposes the establishment of possibilities, from the confrontation between two units (HOSS and HAD), to identify the elements capable of explaining this difference of performance between the two models of management. The research points to the positive influence of the administrative and financial autonomy, to the direction given to the work processes by goals setting in the Management Contract and innovative management technologies with the intensive use of the information as base for taking decisions. This result, far from indicating the complete conversion of AD to the publicizing by the OSS model, points to the possibilities and limits of development of AD, by the incorporation of management technologies in the OSS environment.

Teaching public health in undergraduate medical courses: a case study in three universities in Paraná.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Historically, different concepts of public health have influenced both the specific teaching in this field and its participation in general physician training. Starting from this assumption, the objective of this paper was to study how public health has been taught in undergraduate medical courses, focusing on structure and on how this has affected curriculum design in three universities in the State of Paraná, Brazil. DESIGN AND SETTING: Qualitative investigation developed at Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL) and Universidade Positivo (UnicenP). METHODS: This study included a documentary analysis on pedagogical projects and on how these are actually experienced by those working on them. Eleven managers and 18 teachers were interviewed, as well as four groups of students that were formed in the three medical courses. RESULTS: Between 5 and 20% of Public Health topics were shown to be included in the curriculums, depending on the teaching strategies used. However, they were always set up within academic approaches that were strongly linked to healthcare services. This situation has been strengthened through the degree of progress made by the National Health System (Sistema Unico de Saúde, SUS) in both cities (Curitiba and Londrina). CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the nature of the university, the administrative and academic setup of the course and of the different ways of incorporating teachers, Public Health is present and takes on considerable relevance for medical training, even if it does not constitute a linking thread within undergraduate medical courses.

Utilization of the Family Health Program in metropolitan regions: a methodological approach.

OBJECTIVE: To present the methodological approach used to define the profile of health services utilization by the population enrolled in the Family Health Program. METHODS: Three patterns of services utilization accessed by the population were considered: residual, partial and full. These patterns were identified based on the range of actions of the Family Health Program that are accessed by the population. An enquiry was conducted in 2006 with two-stage sampling in an area characterized by high levels of social exclusion in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. In the first stage, 960 people participating in family health teams were drawn and classified by the community-based health agents as "full use" or not of the health services. In the second stage, 173 drawn subjects were then classified according to the patterns of services utilization. RESULTS: Subjects were classified as full users (16%), partial users (57%) and residual users (26%), and had different social and demographic characteristics. There was a selective and focused utilization of the services offered by the Family Health Program. Being male, having a level of schooling above the fifth grade of elementary school, having a paid job and accessing medical care systems implied lower adhesion to the services, even though the study focused on regions with few options of healthcare services. Even in areas of high social exclusion and low offer of health services, 25% of the enrolled population did not use the services offered at the Family Health Units, receiving only home visits. CONCLUSIONS: Methodologies that are capable of capturing distinct patterns of health services utilization by the population may contribute to improve services evaluation.

Conceitos de regulação em saúde no Brasil / Healthcare regulatory concepts in Brazil / Conceptos de regulación en salud en Brasil

São revisados os conceitos de regulação em saúde empregados em publicações científicas nacionais sobre gestão em saúde. Elaborou-se uma tipologia para os conceitos de regulação a partir das ideias mais correntes em cinco disciplinas: ciências da vida, direito, economia, sociologia e ciência política. Quatro ideias destacaram-se: controle, equilíbrio, adaptação e direção, com maior ênfase para a natureza técnica da regulação. A natureza política da regulação ficou em segundo plano. Considera-se que a discussão do conceito de regulação em saúde relacionou-se com a compreensão do papel que o Estado exerce nesse setor. A definição das formas de intervenção do Estado é o ponto fundamental de convergência entre as distintas formas de se conceituar regulação em saúde.

The healthcare regulatory concepts used in Brazilian scientific publications on healthcare management were reviewed. A typo-logical classification for regulatory concepts was developed from the most current ideas in five disciplines: life sciences, law, economics, sociology and political science. Four ideas stood out: control, balance, adaptation and direction, with greatest emphasis on the technical nature of regulation. The political nature of regulation was secondary. It was considered that dis-cussion of healthcare regulatory concepts was connected with comprehension of the role that the state plays in this sector. De-finition of the forms of state intervention is the key convergence point between the different ways of conceptualizing healthcare regulation.

Se revisaron los conceptos de regulación en salud empleados en publicaciones científicas nacionales sobre gestión en salud. Se elaboró una tipología para los conceptos de regulación a partir de las ideas más corrientes en cinco disciplinas: ciencias de la vida, derecho, economía, sociología y ciencia política. Se destacaron cuatro ideas: control, equilibrio, adaptación y dirección, con mayor énfasis en la naturaleza técnica de la regulación. La naturaleza política de la regulación permaneció en segundo plano. Se considera que la discusión del concepto de regulación en salud se relacionó con la comprensión del papel que el Estado ejerce en este sector. La definición de las formas de intervención del Estado es el punto fundamental de convergencia entre las distintas formas para conceptuar regulación en salud.

Federalismo sanitário brasileiro: perspectiva da regionalização do Sistema Único de Saúde / Brazilian health federalism: perspective of regionalization in the brazilian national health system

Estudaram-se as bases jurídico-institucionais presentes no ordenamento constitucional e na legislação sanitária que propiciam a regionalização das ações e serviços de saúde no federalismo brasileiro. A análise fundou-se no reconhecimento de que, pela natureza federativa do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), a regionalização é condicionada pelo modelo de federalismo existente no Brasil e por sua expressão no âmbito sanitário. Revisaram-se os fundamentos do federalismo como forma de organização do Estado e, em seguida, expuseram-se elementos particulares do federalismo cooperativo brasileiro, explorando duas modalidades essenciais de relação intergovernamental no plano federativo: o planejamento regional urbanístico e os consórcios públicos. Apresentou-se, então, a estrutura do federalismo sanitário brasileiro e examinou-se seu processo de construção por uma abordagem da descentralização político-administrativa nas dimensões municipal e regional, observando especialmente as atuais diretivas estabelecidas pelo Pacto pela Saúde. Concluiu-se que a regionalização no SUS tem base normativa bem defi nida e representa manifestação legítima do federalismo cooperativo amparada no direito sanitário brasileiro.

Regionalização e dinâmica política do federalismo sanitário brasileiro / Regionalización y dinámica política del federalismo sanitario brasileño / Regionalization and political dynamics of Brazilian health federalism

Examinaram-se implicações da estrutura federativa brasileira no processo de regionalização de ações e serviços de saúde do Sistema Único de Saúde, considerando que o planejamento regional de saúde no Brasil deve realizar-se no contexto das relações intergovernamentais que expressam o federalismo cooperativo no âmbito sanitário. A análise foi baseada numa abordagem diacrônica do federalismo sanitário brasileiro, reconhecendo dois períodos de desenvolvimento, a descentralização e a regionalização. Explorou-se o planejamento regional do Sistema Único de Saúde à luz do referencial teórico do federalismo. Conclui-se que há necessidade de relativa centralização desse processo no nível das Comissões Intergestores Bipartite, para o exercício da coordenação federativa, e que é imprescindível formalizar espaços de dissenso nos Colegiados de Gestão Regional e nas próprias Comissões Intergestores, para efetivar a construção política consensual na regionalização da saúde.

Se examinaron implicaciones de la estructura federativa brasileña en el proceso de regionalización de acciones y servicios de salud del Sistema Único de Salud, considerando que la planificación regional de salud en Brasil debe realizarse en el contexto de las relaciones intergubernamentales que expresan el federalismo cooperativo en el ámbito sanitario. El análisis fue basado en un abordaje diacrónico del federalismo sanitario brasileño, reconociendo dos períodos de desarrollo, la descentralización y la regionalización. Se exploró la planificación regional del Sistema Único de Salud a la luz de la referencia teórica del federalismo. Se concluyó que hay necesidad de relativa centralización de dicho proceso en el nivel de las Comisiones Intergestoras Bipartita, para el ejercicio de la coordinación federativa, y que es imprescindible formalizar espacios de disenso en los Colegiados de Gestión regional y en las propias Comisiones Intergestoras, para efectivar la construcción política consensual en la regionalización de la salud.

As organizações sociais de saúde como forma de gestão público/privado / Health social organizations as a way of public/private management

O presente tem como objetivo analisar o processo de implementação das organizações sociais de saúde (OSS), no Estado de São Paulo, focalizando o papel desempenhado por fatores como autonomia administrativa e financeira, direcionamento proposto pelo contrato de gestão e o emprego de instrumentos e práticas gerenciais inovadoras, como fatores que condicionam o ganho de eficiência destas (OSS) frente às unidades da administração direta (AD). A abordagem adotada foi a do estudo comparativo, que propõe estabelecer possibilidades de, a partir da confrontação entre duas unidades (HOSS e HAD), identificar os elementos capazes de explicar esta diferença de desempenho entre os dois modelos de gestão. A investigação aponta para a influência positiva da autonomia administrativa e financeira, da direcionalidade imprimida aos processos de trabalho pelas metas estabelecidas no contrato de gestão e de tecnologias gerenciais inovadoras com uso intensivo da informação como base para a tomada de decisão. Este resultado, longe de indicar a completa conversão da AD para a publicização por meio do modelo OSS, aponta para as possibilidades e limites de desenvolvimento da AD, pela incorporação de tecnologias gerenciais implementadas no âmbito das OSS.

This work has as objective to analyze the implementation process of the Health Social Organizations (OSS), in the State of São Paulo, focusing the role played by factors as administrative and financial autonomy, direction proposed by the Management Contract and the use of instruments and innovative management practices, as factors that give condition to the gain of efficiency of these OSS facing the Direct Administration units (AD). The adopted approach was the Comparative Study, which proposes the establishment of possibilities, from the confrontation between two units (HOSS and HAD), to identify the elements capable of explaining this difference of performance between the two models of management. The research points to the positive influence of the administrative and financial autonomy, to the direction given to the work processes by goals setting in the Management Contract and innovative management technologies with the intensive use of the information as base for taking decisions. This result, far from indicating the complete conversion of AD to the publicizing by the OSS model, points to the possibilities and limits of development of AD, by the incorporation of management technologies in the OSS environment.

Health reform in Brazil: lessons to consider.

US analysts and decisionmakers interested in comparative health policy typically turn to European perspectives, but Brazil-notwithstanding its far smaller gross domestic product and lower per capita health expenditures and technological investments-offers an example with surprising relevance to the US health policy context. Not only is Brazil comparable to the United States in size, racial/ethnic and geographic diversity, federal system of government, and problems of social inequality. Within the health system the incremental nature of reforms, the large role of the private sector, the multitiered patchwork of coverage, and the historically large population excluded from health insurance coverage resonate with health policy challenges and developments in the United States.

Teaching public health in undergraduate medical courses: a case study in three universities in Paraná / O ensino da saúde coletiva na graduação médica: estudo de caso em três universidades do Paraná

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Historically, different concepts of public health have influenced both the specific teaching in this field and its participation in general physician training. Starting from this assumption, the objective of this paper was to study how public health has been taught in undergraduate medical courses, focusing on structure and on how this has affected curriculum design in three universities in the State of Paraná, Brazil. DESIGN AND SETTING: Qualitative investigation developed at Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL) and Universidade Positivo (UnicenP). METHODS: This study included a documentary analysis on pedagogical projects and on how these are actually experienced by those working on them. Eleven managers and 18 teachers were interviewed, as well as four groups of students that were formed in the three medical courses. RESULTS: Between 5 and 20 percent of Public Health topics were shown to be included in the curriculums, depending on the teaching strategies used. However, they were always set up within academic approaches that were strongly linked to healthcare services. This situation has been strengthened through the degree of progress made by the National Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS) in both cities (Curitiba and Londrina). CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the nature of the university, the administrative and academic setup of the course and of the different ways of incorporating teachers, Public Health is present and takes on considerable relevance for medical training, even if it does not constitute a linking thread within undergraduate medical courses.

CONTEXTO E OBJETIVO: Historicamente, as diferentes concepções de saúde coletiva influenciaram tanto no ensino específico desse campo do saber como na formação geral do médico. Partindo desse pressuposto, o trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o ensino da saúde coletiva na graduação médica, buscando apreender suas configurações e as implicações delas nas propostas curriculares de três universidades do Paraná (Brasil). TIPO DE ESTUDO E LOCAL: Pesquisa qualitativa desenvolvida na Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL) e Universidade Positivo (UnicenP). MÉTODOS: Este estudo incluiu uma análise documental dos projetos pedagógicos e de como estes são na realidade vivida por aqueles que trabalham com eles. Onze gestores e 18 professores foram entrevistados, bem como quatro grupos de estudantes, que se reuniram nos três cursos de medicina. RESULTADOS: Evidenciaram a inserção de 5 por cento a 20 por cento dos temas da Saúde Coletiva nos currículos, dependendo das estratégias de ensino, mas configurando-se sempre em abordagens acadêmicas fortemente vinculadas aos serviços de saúde, uma realidade que é fortalecida pelo grau de adiantamento do Sistema Único de Saúde em ambas as cidades (Curitiba e Londrina). CONCLUSÕES: Independentemente da natureza da universidade, da configuração burocrática e acadêmica do curso e dos diferentes modos de inserção docente, a Saúde Coletiva se faz presente e se assume com considerável relevância para a formação médica, ainda que não se constitua um eixo articulador da graduação em Medicina.