Methods in Developing Health Situation Analyses (ASIS) in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Introduction: Health situation analyses (ASIS) allow for describing and explaining a population's health/disease profiles and the conditions in which people live and work. However, challenges remain in improving their analytical quality and utilization. Objective: To describe the methods used at different stages of ASIS design in Latin America. Methods: Content analysis of various official ASIS documents and guidelines from Latin American countries available online. Results: Community participation was identified in 63% of the documents. The main quantitative information sources on social determinants were secondary governmental sources (96%), followed by local primary sources (36%). The main sources of information on health conditions were institutional secondary sources (100%), followed by local primary sources (57%). Analyses beyond mere statistical description were found in 29% of the cases. In 54% of the guidelines, qualitative sources were used, playing a crucial role in small and hard-to-reach areas. Among the reviewed guidelines, 15 countries (62%) included prioritization, and 10 countries (43.4%) employed different methods to communicate the results. Conclusion: The reviewed official documents incorporate PAHO guidelines for designing health situation analyses, but their implementation varies significantly across countries, particularly regarding community participation, source usage, prioritization methods, and result dissemination.