Assenssment of the Completeness of Records of Visceral Leishmaniasis in São Luís, Maranhão, Brasil

Abstract

Objective: The objective is to analyze the completeness of the notification forms in the Notifiable Diseases Information System for visceral leishmaniasis in the city of São Luís.   Method: A quantitative descriptive study was carried out based on data analysis from DataSUS, where the essential fields and mandatory fields were considered to evaluate the completeness of the forms.   Results and Discussion: 642 notifications were evaluated during this period. Of the essential fields, only "area of residence" showed very low completeness (27.7%), the others showed completeness above 95%. Among the mandatory fields, "HIV co-infection" was the least complete (94.6%) and the others were above 95%, with the variables "sex", "age group" and "diagnosis confirmation criterion" having the best completeness of all, reaching 100%.   Research Implications: Most of the fields were very complete, but there is still a need for more attention to be paid to the "area of residence" field, as it provides data on the regions that are most affected, and is important for targeting and improving epidemiological control actions for visceral leishmaniasis.