Identification of health priorities: a technical alternative for support in decision-making/Identificacao de prioridades em saude: uma alternativa tecnica de apoio a tomada de decisao

The scope of this study is to propose and discuss the application of an Index of Prioritization in Health (PIHealth). PIHealth is an objective criterion that reveals the magnitude of health problems and determinants in planning situations. PIHealth was used in identifying health priorities in different administrative health regions of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) during the development of the 2009-2011 State Health Plan. The calculation of PIHealth made it possible to express the indicators analyzed within a given range (0 to 1) used to identify regional priorities (insufficient: 0 to 0.4; average: 0.41 to 0.69; and adequate: 0.7 to 1). The application of the index helped to identify the relationship in terms of magnitude of health problems based on an internal reference of the territories analyzed. Use of the index was a technical option in identifying priorities, which provided a simplification in the language used to express health problems and determinants. Its discretionary power and the intuitive simplicity of its interpretation showed that PIHealth is a promising tool, providing objective answers to key questions frequently addressed in health planning contexts. Key words Priorities in Health, Decision support techniques, Health planning, Health management, Health indicators O objetivo deste estudo epropor e discutir a aplicacao de um Indice de Priorizacao em Saude ([IP.sub.Saude]). O [IP.sub.Saude] e um criterio objetivo que evidencia a magnitude de problemas e determinantes de saude em situacoes de planejamento. O [IP.sub.Saude] foi utilizado na identificacao de prioridades de saude nas diferentes nas regioes de administrativas do Rio Grande do Sul (RS), durante o desenvolvimento do Plano Estadual de Saude 2009-2011. O calculo do [IP.sub.Saude] permitiu expressar os indicadores analisados em um mesmo intervalo (0 a 1) utilizado na identificacao deprioridades regionais (insuficiente, 0 a 0,4; medio, 0,41 e 0,69; e adequado, 0,7 a 1). A aplicacao do Indice auxiliou na identificacao da magnitude relacional de problemas de saude com base em uma referencia interna aos territorios analisados. O emprego do indice representou uma opcao tecnica na identificacao de prioridades que proporcionou uma simplificacao na linguagem utilizada para expressar problemas e determinantes de saude. Sua capacidade discricionaria e a singeleza intuitiva de sua leitura demonstraram que o [IP.sub.Saude] e uma ferramenta promissora, ao proporcionar respostas objetivas a