[Preliminary analysis of the Information System in the Brazilian Schistosomiasis Control Program, 1999-2003]

This study provides a preliminary analysis of the Information System in the Schistosomiasis Control Program (SISPCE) in the States of Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, and Pernambuco, Brazil, from 1999 to 2003. The data analysis suggests a sharp decline in data entry in the system during the transition period involving health services decentralization, followed by a gradual increase. Major under-recording was observed in Pernambuco. SISPCE-DATASUS and IBGE (National Census Bureau) data are insufficient to construct a surveillance index for serious forms of the endemic disease and other aspects that could relate sanitary conditions to schistosomiasis. Reformulation of the SISPCE is key for schistosomiasis control measures, given the new reality in the Brazilian health system. The data system should be redesigned in order to integrate the health policies with the Unified National Health System's guidelines, using a systematic data collection methodology in keeping with local specificities and allowing prospective comparisons and evaluations, in addition to constructing new indicators with an emphasis on morbidity and determinants of the endemic and the adoption of analytical of the that express the real situation of the schistosomiasis in the States.