title: Health surveillance: proposal for a tool to evaluate technological arrangements in local health systems.
abstract: In order to identify the various meanings ascribed to health surveillance, the authors conducted a systematic review of articles published from January 1990 to August 2005 in the following databases: LILACS, SciELO, CAPES, MEDLINE, and Web of Science. A total of 144 abstracts were read and 18 full texts of Brazilian articles were selected for in-depth analysis, leading to the design of a typology for technological arrangements related to the various meanings: (i) traditional epidemiological surveillance, with communicable diseases as the main object; (ii) public health surveillance, as the municipal component of the national health surveillance system; and (iii) health surveillance, a technological mode of organizing health practices in a given territory. The proposed typology can contribute to research on surveillance practices in local health systems. It can also serve as a template for data collection and analysis. The meanings ascribed to the three types are discussed in light of public health's historical development as a field.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brasil. gerluce1@terra.com.br
authors.forename: Gerluce Alves Pontes da
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Ligia Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Vieira-da-Silva
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000379:methods*; D003657:Decision Making; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*