[Scientific output on health systems management: a study carried out in Web space (1987-2009)]

The objective of this study is to characterize Brazilian/Latin American scientific output in the "field" of health and on health systems management specifically, based on work registered on the Lilacs database in the period from 1987 to 2009. The terms "health management" and "health systems", identified in the BVS/Bireme "Health Science Descriptors" were used and 1,544 works were identified, of which 298 were selected (19.3%). The reading and analysis of these abstracts enabled the identification of a set of variables processed with the use of Epi-Info software, such as: year of publication of the work; type of document; object of the study; type of study; theoretical bases and methodological approach/nature. The results point to an irregular, albeit increasing trend, in the volume of the output in the area from the year 1988 onwards, with the emergence of studies and research in sub-areas that reveal the influence of the process of construction of the Brazilian Unified Health System in the 1990s and thereafter. The fact that very few abstracts made reference to the theoretical bases used is noticeable. From a methodological point of view it is seen that when they are declared in abstracts, descriptive studies with a qualitative approach are predominant.