Health Plans in municipalities in the state of Espírito Santo:an analysis focusing on Health Surveillance

Abstract

Introduction: Health Plans are management instruments that guide the definition and implementation of health activities. As an integral part of the Unified Health System, Health Surveillance actions must be included in Health Plans. Objective: To analyze the inclusion of health surveillance in municipal health plans in the state of Espírito Santo, aiming to understand how this area was expressed in the management of these instruments. Method: A documentary analysis of municipal health plans for the four-year periods 2018–2021 and 2022–2025 was carried out, framing health surveillance actions into categories and subcategories. It was found that health surveillance actions are mostly of an authorization and health control nature, as well as related to the process of decentralization of activities between the state and municipality. Results: There was a strong presence of actions related to the physical structuring of health surveillance bodies, denoting a possible weakness in meeting the population’s health needs. Conclusions: The lack of consolidated national indicators and information systems in health surveillance ends up distancing this area from planning bodies, thus  generating discrepancies between the population’s health needs and health surveillance actions.