OBJECTIVES: evaluate the structure and process of collection centers with focus on specimen collection, transportation of tests and active search in the state of Rio de Janeiro's Neonatal Screening Program (PTN-RJ). METHODS: 66 of the 422 collection centers were chosen, according to type, location and workload volume. The evaluation tool employed during the research included: semi-structured questionnaires, guidelines for direct observation and document review. Scores were generated for both structure and process components assessment at each collection center. Median scores were then calculated, evaluated for internal analytical consistency, score correlation between structure and process components. RESULTS: the overall median score (maximum of 100) was 69.1 (variation: 50.5-86.6) for structure and 63.9 (variation 46.9-77.4) for process components. The performance of each collection center showed consistency among centers with similar structure. Maternity centers and Family Health Program Units (PSF) showed superior performance in their process components, with collection centers type B (UCB) showing lower performance with the same group of components. The Cronbach alpha coefficient indicated a high consistency of among the assessment tools for structure (alpha=0.93) and process components (alpha=0.81). The structure and process components scores showed weak correlation (Pearson coefficient = 0.44; Spearman = 0.42). Differences in mean scores among types of collection center showed considerable magnitude, but without statistical signi-ficance (p=0.387). CONCLUSIONS: the overall performance in structure and process components was satisfactory. Deficiencies were found in professional training and in availability of specimen collection and educational material.
Neonatal screening; Evaluation; Program evaluation
