Practices and trends for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in Primary Health Care: A scoping review

Abstract

The processes of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of health projects, programs, and policies are fundamental to strengthening Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS), by improving management, optimizing resources, and promoting the effectiveness of actions. Primary Health Care (PHC), as the central axis of the network, plays a strategic role in prevention, care, and health promotion, making it a privileged field for the institutionalization of M&E practices. In this context, this article analyzes how such practices have been shaped in Brazilian PHC over the past five years, seeking to identify practices and trends in the field. To this end, a scoping review was conducted of articles published between 2019 and 2024 and retrieved from the Regional BVS Portal. Based on the analysis of 116 publications, the study found a predominance of evaluative studies over monitoring, with emphasis on performance and processes. The extensive use of quantitative approaches and instruments such as the PCATool and PMAQ-AB data stands out, although the incorporation of qualitative methods remains limited. The study concludes that, in recent years, M&E practices and trends in Brazilian PHC have become increasingly consolidated, with important advances, yet still accompanied by structural and methodological gaps.