Strategic analysis of the QualiSUS-Network Project: contributions for evaluation in public health

Abstract

QualiSUS-Network was a project that aimed at improving management and health care by means of organization of health network. The objective of our study is to analyse the process of formulation and implementation of QualiSUS-Network in terms of management. The study employed a qualitative document analysis. We used strategic analysis by considering three dimensions: relevance of the problem prioritized; relevance of the proposed objectives and solutions; relevance of partnerships. We used the strategic analysis together with the theory of change, considering its three components: chain of results and its conditioners, actives and interactions among players. We also developed a timeline of QualiSUS-Network, identifying critical events. Our findings showed that QualiSUS-Network achieved relevance in the three dimensions of the strategic analysis. However, our results highlighted that future interventions should take into consideration the following barriers: i) institutional time-lag; ii) weak institutional model for monitoring and evaluation; iii) difficulty of the instances involved with risk management, especially those originating from government transitions. The use of multiple methodological strategies, based on the intervention theory, considering the chain of outcomes and causalities, have proved potent in explaining the theory and management model in the QualiSUS-Network.