文摘
The Brazilian public health system instituted the mental health care networks in 2011. Thus, the goal of this paper is to describe the research methods used as basis for a proposal of an evaluation model of municipal and regional management of a Mental Health Care Network that comprises computerized information systems and specific indicators. Proposed steps include: Review of Brazilian legislation on management in mental health care networks, Formulation of questions about how is mental health care management in the region; Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders about the performance of the network; Study of existing indicators in mental health field used in universal public health systems; Selection of indicators for implementation and availability in a web information system; Monitoring the system's access to obtain indicators’ usage; Another set of semi-structured interviews to evaluate effective use of the provided indicators in management of mental health care. The results obtained will be evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively to compare the final overview with the initial one, regarding mental health care network management, and if the use of computerized indicators influenced it. The use of the proposed methods in specific localities will enable expansion of local knowledge improving management and health care quality.