Um Estudo Multinível Sobre as Filas Para Internações Relacionadas com a Gravidez, o Parto e o Puerpério no SUS

This work studies the waiting times for the chapter XV of the ICD-10 (pregnancy,childbirth and puerperal care) in the years of 1999 and 2002 within the BrazilianNational Health System (SUS). The average waiting times were estimated byqueueing theory models. We used multilevel regression models to explain the waitingtime variations across municipalities and across states. The average waiting time thatpatients wait for service were found to be very long and highly elastic with respect toarrival and service rates in the system. These waiting times also presents greatvariability across municipalities and across states. We estimate that the frequency oflow birthweight; the cesarian section rates; the total fertility rate; the HumanDevelopment Index (HDI); and the proportion of non-resident cases treated arepositively associated with waiting times. On the contrary, the utilization of prenatalcare; the rates of nurses with higher level of education; and the per capita totalexpenditure on health are negatively associated with waiting times.