Abstract

LIMA, Claudia Risso de Araujo; SCHRAMM, Joyce Mendes de Andrade; COELI, Claudia Medina  and  SILVA, Márcia Elizabeth Marinho da. Review of data quality dimensions and applied methods in the evaluation of health information systems. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 2009, vol.25, n.10, pp. 2095-2109. ISSN 0102-311X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2009001000002.

In Brazil, quality monitoring of data from the various health information systems does not follow a regular evaluation plan. This paper reviews quality evaluation initiatives related to the Brazilian information systems, identifying the selected quality dimensions and the method employed. The SciELO and LILACS databases were searched, as were the bibliographical references from articles identified in the search. 375 articles were initially identified, leaving a final total of 78 after exclusions. The four most frequent dimensions in articles totaled approximately 90% of the analyses. The studies prioritized certain quality dimensions: reliability, validity, coverage, and completeness. Half of the studies were limited to data from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The limited number of studies on some systems and their unequal distribution between regions of the country hinder a comprehensive quality assessment of Brazil's health information systems. The importance of accurate information highlights the need to implement a data management policy for health information systems in Brazil.

Keywords : Information Systems; Database; Evaluation.