In the early 1990s, a group of British researchers developed a new methodology for healthcare resource allocation based on need. The methodology's main characteristics are to draw on the theoretical model for healthcare services demand and apply data on health services utilization to estimate needs-based use. The objective of the current study was to assess the applicability of this methodology for allocating Federal resources at the local level in Brazil. Data from all acute hospital admissions in 1999 came from the Inpatient Information System of the Unified National Health System (SUS). The country was divided into 134 geographic areas. The statistical models tested to estimate needs-based use applied the following need variables: infant mortality rate; standardized mortality rate; illiteracy rate; proportion of households headed by women; and mean number of household members. All tested models showed negative regression coefficients, indicating that the methodology is inadequate for resource allocation based on need in places like Brazil with large social inequalities in healthcare utilization.
Resource Allocation; Health Services Needs and Demand; Equity; Methodology
