Validation of the logical model of comprehensive care for children with congenital Zika syndrome

Abstract

This study aimed to develop and validate a logical model of the components of comprehensive care for children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in three stages: (1) search in the scientific literature and official documents to elaborate the logical model, (2) improvement of the model by incorporating the suggestions of specialists in child health, people with disabilities, health evaluation, and health care network, and (3) validation of the logical model by the Delphi consensus in two phases: evaluation of the relevance of the model items by the percentage of agreement (PA), Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, medians, and interquartile values. The logical model contains all the necessary components to admit and follow up CZS cases from conception to the third year of life. A total of 136 items of the model were classified as relevant (phase 1: PA 96-97% and 0.76-0.93; phase 2: PA 98% and 0.88-0.97), 98% very relevant and 2% relevant. The elaboration and validation of the logical model could graphically represent the components necessary for comprehensive health care for children with CZS and organize care flows with the necessary elements to assist local management in planning, structuring, and evaluating the health care network. Despite the unique characteristics of the municipality, this model may serve other locations with contextual factors resembling those in Rio de Janeiro.