This research explored health decision-making processes among people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Our analysis suggested that diagnosis with type 2 was followed by a period of intense emotional and cognitive disequilibrium. Subsequently, the informants were observed to proceed to health decision-making which was affected by three separate and interrelated factors: knowledge, self-efficacy, and purpose. Knowledge included cognitive or factual components and emotional elements. Knowledge influenced the degree of upset or disequilibrium the patient experienced, and affected a second category, agency: the informants’ confidence in their ability to enact lifestyle changes. The third factor, purpose, summarized the personal and deeply held reasons people gave as they made decisions concerning their health, eating and exercising. We propose this model, grounded in informant stories, as a heuristic, to guide further inquiry. From these stories, the patient is seen as more active and the interrelated influences of knowledge, agency, and purpose, synergistically interact to explain changes in health behaviors.

Humans’ social relationships determine to a large degree their trajectories in life. Despite strong evidence for the impact of interpersonal relations on wellbeing, the causal links between the two are not yet fully understood. This dissertation offers a new perspective on the mechanisms through which social ties influence negative (excessive drinking) and positive (participation in recreational activities) health behaviors. In three studies employing a unique combination of social network, fMRI, and experience-sampling methods, we propose that health decisions are the result of complex computations involving prior social experiences, perceived social norms, social comparison processes, and current feelings of connections. Each chapter of this dissertation discusses one of these three studies. Chapter 1 provides evidence that past social experiences shape valuations of new information by showing that pairs of students that drink often together tend to have more similar neural responses to novel alcohol cues in regions associated with affective self-generated thought. In addition, this Chapter suggests that researchers must consider the intricate interplay between individuals’ personal goals and their communities’ norms to understand the influence of social environments on neural representations. The degree to which students aligned their neural response patterns to alcohol with those of their peers depended on interactions between their individual motives for drinking and their group’s approval of this behavior. Chapter 2 presents novel findings that people spontaneously represent social information from multiple networks (e.g., popularity and leadership) at a neural level in social cognition (right TPJ, dmPFC) and valuation (vmPFC) regions. Importantly, individuals who display higher neural sensitivity to status differences are also more likely to align their drinking behavior with their group norms in daily life. Together, our results provide insight into the neural mechanisms through which social comparison processes shape conformity and suggest social cognition and valuation regions as important hubs orchestrating this process. While Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 focus on the influence of social ties on drinking, Chapter 3 discusses the protective role of close relations during difficult times. We provide evidence that close college friendships, even if afar, helped young adults cope with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Follow-up between- and within-individual analyses reveal that this buffering effect could be explained by differences in the quality of online interactions (e.g., via phone, text messaging), instances of personal disclosure, and participation in enjoyable activities. All in all, this dissertation advances our understanding of why measures of social wellbeing are the best predictor of health trajectories in life, by highlighting the important role social ties play in shaping valuation of new information, guiding behavior to meet social goals, and protecting against stress by allowing people to engage in recreational activities.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic posed an unparalleled challenge to worldwide public health systems, characterized by its high transmissibility and the initial absence of accessible testing, treatments, and vaccines. The deficiency in public awareness and the scarcity of readily available public health information regarding this century's disaster further intensified the critical need for innovative solutions to bridge these gaps. In response, Shaman Labs1,2, leveraging its deep expertise in forecasting for influenza3, Ebola, and various SARS viruses, initiated the development of country-wide COVID-19 projections within weeks following the WHO's declaration of the pandemic4–6. Almost immediately thereafter, it became necessary to create a sophisticated online platform—a system capable of displaying county-specific COVID-19 forecasts, including daily estimated infections, cases, and deaths. This platform was designed to allow users to select any county, state, or national geography and compare it with another, under various scenarios of social distancing measures. Additionally, the architecture of this system was required to facilitate the regular integration of updated data, ensuring the tool's ongoing relevance and utility. Columbia University's data visualization system aimed to communicate epidemiological forecasts to various stakeholders. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, amid escalating uncertainty and the pressing need for reliable data, Dr. Rundle played a pivotal role in briefing key stakeholders on the unfolding crisis. His efforts were directed towards providing Congressman Ron Johnson, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, as well as their staff, with up-to-date projections and analyses derived from the Classic Data Visualization tools. Dr. Rundle’s consultative role extended to a diverse array of institutions including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Air Force, and the Federal Reserve Board, as well as advising private entities such as Pfizer, MetLife, and Unilever. His expertise facilitated informed planning and response efforts across various levels of government and sectors, underscoring the critical role of sophisticated data visualization from the earliest stages of the pandemic. This Integrated Learning Experience (ILE) examines the development and implementation of the Time Machine platform, focusing on its application in visualizing and analyzing COVID-19 epidemiological forecasts. The study explores methods for improving forecast data presentation, analysis, and accuracy assessment. Methods: The body of this work unfolds through a series of critical chapters that collectively address the multifaceted functionality and impact of the Time Machine platform. Initially, the work focuses on the construction of the Time Machine platform, a web-based R interactive user interface coupled with cloud-based database system, specifically tailored for the intuitive visualization of epidemiological forecasts, detailing the technical and design considerations essential for enabling users to interpret complex data more effectively. Following this, the implementation of a rigorous data-discovery framework is presented, examining case reporting inconsistencies across different regions, using low-level GitHub and Windows scripting technologies, thereby highlighting the significance of accurate data collection and the impact of discrepancies on public health decisions. The narrative then transitions to the implementation of advanced statistical models, such as strictly proper scoring and weighted interval scoring, to assess the accuracy of the forecasts provided by the Time Machine platform, using a dedicated R library and testing with the help of MS Excel sandbox, underscoring the importance of reliable predictions in the management of public health crises. Lastly, a detailed analysis is conducted, encompassing countrywide data (3142 counties) over an extended period (147 weeks), utilizing Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to identify key predictors that influence forecast accuracy, offering valuable insights into the factors that either enhance or detract from the reliability of epidemiological predictions. Results: The deployment of the Classic Data Visualization and the subsequent evolution of the Time Machine platform have significantly advanced epidemiological forecast visualization capabilities. The Time Machine platform was designed with an automated data refresh system, allowing for regular updates of epidemiological forecast data and reported actuals. The project developed tools for monitoring and evaluating the quality of public health reporting, aiming to improve the accuracy and timeliness of data used in public health decisions. Additionally, the research implemented methods for standardizing forecast accuracy assessments, including the normalization of scores to enable comparisons across different geographical scales. These approaches were designed to support both local and national-level pandemic response efforts. The accuracy analyses throughout different phases of the pandemic revealed a 42% improvement in forecast accuracy from Phase 1 to Phase 7. Larger populations (27% increase per unit increase on a base-10 logarithmic scale) and higher county-level activity (45% increase from the lowest to the highest quartile) resulted in better estimations. Additionally, the analysis highlighted the significant impact of reporting quality on forecast accuracy. On the other hand, the study identified the challenges in predicting case surges, showing a 27% decline in accuracy during periods of rising infections compared to declining periods. The regression results highlight the potential benefits of improving data collection and providing timely feedback to forecasting teams. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the potential of advanced data visualization and accuracy measurement techniques in improving epidemiological forecasting. The findings suggest that factors such as urbanicity, case reporting quality, and pandemic phase significantly influence forecast accuracy. Further research is needed to refine these models and enhance their applicability across various public health scenarios.

Using a critical feminist approach, and with attention to participants’ broad life experiences, this qualitative study explores seven women’s challenging, transformative decisions to give birth at home with midwives in Ontario, Canada. To make this choice, the women had to draw on their own strength, take responsibility for their decisions, and resist the dominant view of birth as inherently risky, and of women’s birth experiences as unimportant and incompatible with more narrowly defined good outcomes. As participants became informed decision-makers, resisted medicalized birth, and envisioned more woman-centred possibilities, they were empowered as active agents in their births. They were able to trust that with the care of their midwives, and the support of their partners or close family, they could have satisfying and safe births at home.

This research explored health decision-making processes among people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Our analysis suggested that diagnosis with type 2 was followed by a period of intense emotional and cognitive disequilibrium. Subsequently, the informants were observed to proceed to health decision-making which was affected by three separate and interrelated factors: knowledge, self-efficacy, and purpose. Knowledge included cognitive or factual components and emotional elements. Knowledge influenced the degree of upset or disequilibrium the patient experienced, and affected a second category, agency: the informants’ confidence in their ability to enact lifestyle changes. The third factor, purpose, summarized the personal and deeply held reasons people gave as they made decisions concerning their health, eating and exercising. We propose this model, grounded in informant stories, as a heuristic, to guide further inquiry. From these stories, the patient is seen as more active and the interrelated influences of knowledge, agency, and purpose, synergistically interact to explain changes in health behaviors.

Using a critical feminist approach, and with attention to participants’ broad life experiences, this qualitative study explores seven women’s challenging, transformative decisions to give birth at home with midwives in Ontario, Canada. To make this choice, the women had to draw on their own strength, take responsibility for their decisions, and resist the dominant view of birth as inherently risky, and of women’s birth experiences as unimportant and incompatible with more narrowly defined good outcomes. As participants became informed decision-makers, resisted medicalized birth, and envisioned more woman-centred possibilities, they were empowered as active agents in their births. They were able to trust that with the care of their midwives, and the support of their partners or close family, they could have satisfying and safe births at home.

Cette étude a cherché à comprendre une partie de la régionalisation de la santé au Brésil, par le biais des hospitalisations envoyées par les communes de la « Região de Saúde Capital Vale do Gravataí – Região de Saúde 10 » (Région de Santé Capitale Vale do Gravataí – Région de Santé 10), de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul, vers les hôpitaux de Porto Alegre, par l’intermédiaire du flux d’hospitalisations de cette commune, de 2008 à 2013. Pour ce faire, ont été comparés deux groupes principaux (1) les communes de la « Região 10 » et les (2) dix communes plus fréquents en hospitalisation à Porto Alegre et aussi deux groupes complémentaires d’hospitalisation d’habitants de : (3) Porto Alegre dans la capitale et (4) d’autres communes (les autres communes qui n’appartiennent pas aux groupes mentionnés ci-dessus) pour les dix procédures les plus fréquentes d’hospitalisation à Porto Alegre en complexité moyenne, qui ont eu comme fonction principale d’expliquer les résultats des principaux. L’étude a été élaborée en quatre étapes : le téléchargement et le traitement de la base d’hospitalisations du Système d’Information Hospitalaire Décentralisé – SIHD de DATASUS – Départ d’Informatique du Système Unique de Santé; la lecture des résolutions de la « Comissão Intergestores Bipartite do Rio Grande do Sul » (Commission Intergestionnaires Bipartite de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul) – CIB/RS; la lecture des données virtuelles de santé sur les articles qui pourraient contribuer à la compréhension de l’information disponibilisée; et enfin, des visites réalisées aux Centrales de Régulation de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul et de la commune de Porto Alegre. Les résultats ont été démontrés en trois phases, les habitants de la « Região Saúde 1 » – les hospitalisations locales dans la « Região de Saúde 10 », les flux d’hospitalisation à Porto Alegre – de Moyenne Complexité et le comparatif des groupes. En ce qui concerne le groupe principal de l’étude, la procédure d’accouchement naturel a été la plus fréquente, dans la tranche de complexité moyenne qui est l’axe de la recherche, suivies par l’accouchement par césarienne et les procédures concernant l’oncologie. L’apport principal de ce travail a été celui de confirmer l’hypothèse que le plus grand nombre d’hospitalisations à Porto Alegre concernant la complexité moyenne est issue de leurs habitants et de leur Région de Santé. Nous avons pu conclure que la régionalisation tente de s’établir à travers l’effort des centrales de régulation afin de se structurer et d’utiliser l’information pour la planification dans le domaine de la santé et l’optimisation des procédures. / Diese Studie versucht, einen Teil der Regionalisierung der Krankenversorgung in Brasilien zu verstehen. Dafür wurden die Internierungen untersucht, die von Gemeinden der Gesundheitsregion 10 (Hauptstadt/Vale do Gravataí) im Bundesstaat Rio Grande do Sul an Krankenhäuser in Porto Alegre weitergeleitet wurden. Dazu wurden die Internierungsstatistiken der Stadt von 2008 bis 2013 ausgewertet. Hierfür wurden zwei Hauptgruppen miteinander verglichen (1) Gemeinden der Region 10 und (2) die zehn Gemeinden mit den meisten Internierungen in Porto Alegre und zwei weitere Gruppen (3) Internierungen von Einwohnern Porto Alegres in der Hauptstadt selbst und (4) andere Gemeinden (weitere Gemeinden die nicht Teil der genannten Gruppen sind). Ausgewertet wurden die zehn häufigsten Internierungsgründe mittlerer Komplexität deren Hauptfunktion war, die Ergebnisse der Hauptgruppen zu erklären. Die Studie wurde in vier Etappen durchgeführt : Download und Verarbeitung der krankenhäuslichen Internierungsdatenbank des Dezentralisierten Krankenhausinformationssystems (SIHD) des DATASUS ; das Lesen der Resolutionen der Bipartitenkommission von Rio Grande do Sul (CIB/RS) ; das Lesen virtueller Datenbanken mit Artikeln aus dem Gesundheitswesen, die zum Verständnis der zur Verfügung gestellten Information beitragen ; und, zum Schluß, Besuche der Koordinierungsstellen des Bundesstaates Rio Grande do Sul und der Stadt Porto Alegre. Die Ergebnisse gliedern sich in drei Phasen : Bewohner der Gesundheitsregion 10 – lokale Internierungen in der Gesundheitsregion 10, die Verlegungen nach Porto Alegre (mittlere Komplexität) und der Vergleich der Gruppen. Für die Hauptgruppe der Studie war eine normale Entbindung der häufigste Internierungsgrund in der mittleren Komplexität, dem Fokus dieser Studie, gefolgt von Geburten mit Kaiserschnitt und onkologischen Eingriffen. Der größte Beitrag dieser Arbeit ist die Bestätigung der Hypothese, dass die größte Zahl der Internierungen mit mittlerer Komplexität in Porto Alegre auf Einwohner der Stadt und ihrer eigenen Gesundheitsregion zurück geht. Daraus wird geschlossen, dass die Regionalisierung versucht, sich zu etablieren, über die Bemühungen der Koordinierungsstellen sich zu strukturieren und die Informationen für die Organisation des Gesundheitswesens und die Optimierung der Prozesse zu nutzen. / O presente estudo buscou compreender uma parte da regionalização da saúde no Brasil, por meio das internações encaminhadas por municípios da Região de Saúde Capital Vale do Gravataí – Região de Saúde 10, do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, para hospitais de Porto Alegre, através dos fluxos da internação no município, de 2008 a 2013. Para tanto, foram comparados dois grupos principais (1) municípios da Região 10 e (2) os dez municípios mais frequentes em internação em Porto Alegre; e dois grupos complementares internações de residentes de (3) Porto Alegre na Capital e (4) outros municípios (demais municípios que não fizeram parte dos grupos já citados) para os dez procedimentos mais frequentes em internação em Porto Alegre para a média complexidade,que tiveram como principal função explicar os resultados dos principais. O estudo se desenvolveu em quatro etapas: download e processamento da base de internação hospitalar do Sistema de Informação Hospitalar Descentralizado – SIHD do DATASUS; leitura das resoluções da Comissão Intergestores Bipartite do Rio Grande do Sul – CIB/RS; leitura das bases virtuais de saúde de artigos que contribuíssem na compreensão da informação disponibilizada; e por fim, visitas realizadas às Centrais de Regulação do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul e do Município de Porto Alegre. Os resultados se mostraram em três fases, os residentes da Região de saúde 10 – Internações locais na Região de Saúde 10, os fluxos de internação para Porto Alegre - Média Complexidade e o comparativo dos grupos. Para o grupo principal do estudo o procedimento parto normal apareceu como mais frequente, seguido por parto cesariano e procedimentos relacionados à oncologia. A principal contribuição do trabalho foi confirmar a hipótese de que o maior número de internações em Porto Alegre para a média complexidade é oriunda de seus residentes e de sua própria Região de Saúde. Conclui-se que a regionalização tenta se estabelecer através de um esforço das centrais de regulações para se estruturarem e utilizarem a informação para o planejamento em saúde e otimização dos processos. / This study aimed to understand part of the health regionalization in Brazil, through the referral of admissions from Capital/ Gravataí Valley health region (10), Rio Grande do Sul State, to Porto Alegre hospitals, and through admission flows, from 2008 to 2013. For this purpose, comparisons between two main groups – (1) municipalities in Region 10 and (2) the ten most frequent municipalities in Porto Alegre admissions (10) - and two complementary groups : admissions of Porto Alegre residents (3) and (4) other municipalities (those which were not part of the groups already mentioned) - for the ten most frequent procedures in Porto Alegre admissions for medium complexity were made, in order to explain the results of the main groups. The study was conducted in four stages: hospitalization database download and processing from Hospital Information System Decentralization (SIHD) - DATASUS; Rio Grande do Sul Bipartite Inter-managerial Commissions (CIBs) - CIB / RS resolutions reading; health virtual database and publication reading for a better comprehension of the information provided; and visits to Regulatory Centers of Rio Grande do Sul state and Porto Alegre city. The results were presented in three phases: Health Region 10 residents - local admissions, Porto Alegre admission flows - medium complexity, and group comparison. For the main study group, normal delivery procedure appeared as the most frequent, followed by cesarean and oncology related procedures. The main outcome of this work was to confirm the hypothesis that the largest number of admissions in Porto Alegre for medium complexity comes from its residents and its own Health Region. To conclude, regionalization tries to establish itself through regulatory centers effort to structure themselves and use the information for health planning and process optimization. / Este estudio tuvo la finalidad de comprender una parte de la regionalización de la salud en Brasil, a través de las hospitalizaciones canalizadas por municipios de la Región de Salud 10 del Estado de Rio Grande do Sul, utilizando los datos de número de ingresos hospitalarios por municipio entre los años 2008 y 2013. Para ello fueron comparados dos grupos principales: (1) municipios de la Región 10, (2) los diez municipios con mayor números de hospitalizaciones en Porto Alegre; así como dos grupos complementarios: (3) hospitalizaciones de residentes de la capital Porto Alegre, (4) demás municipios que no estan incluidos en los grupos antes mencionados. En este caso, fueron considerados los diez procedimientos más frecuentes de mediana complejidad que son motivo de hospitalización en Porto Alegre. Este trabajo se desarrollo en cuatro etapas: procesamiento de la base de datos de ingresos hospitalarios del Sistema de Información Hospitalaria Descentralizado, lectura de las resoluciones de la Comisión Intergestores Bipartita de Rio Grande do Sul, lectura de las bases de datos digitales cuyos artículos del área de la salud contribuyeran en la comprensión de la información disponible, y finalmente, visitas realizadas a las Centrales de Regulación del Estado Rio Grande do Sul y del municipio de Porto Alegre. Los resultados se presentaron en 3 etapas de acuerdo a: los residentes de la Región de Salud 10 - hospitalizaciones locales, el número de ingresos hospitalarios en Porto Alegre - mediana complejidad y la comparación entre grupos principales y complementarios. Para el grupo principal, objeto de esta investigación, el procedimiento de mediana complejidad más frecuente fue el parto normal, seguido por parto por cesárea y procedimientos oncológicos. La contribución más importante de este trabajo fue confirmar la hipótesis sobre que el mayor número de ingresos hospitalarios por casos de mediana complejidad en Porto Alegre, corresponde a los oriundos de esta ciudad y de la propia Región de Salud. Se concluye que la regionalización busca establecerse a través de los esfuerzos de las centrales de regulaciones, para estructurar y utilizar la información en la planificación de salud y optimización de los procesos.

Cette étude a cherché à comprendre une partie de la régionalisation de la santé au Brésil, par le biais des hospitalisations envoyées par les communes de la « Região de Saúde Capital Vale do Gravataí – Região de Saúde 10 » (Région de Santé Capitale Vale do Gravataí – Région de Santé 10), de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul, vers les hôpitaux de Porto Alegre, par l’intermédiaire du flux d’hospitalisations de cette commune, de 2008 à 2013. Pour ce faire, ont été comparés deux groupes principaux (1) les communes de la « Região 10 » et les (2) dix communes plus fréquents en hospitalisation à Porto Alegre et aussi deux groupes complémentaires d’hospitalisation d’habitants de : (3) Porto Alegre dans la capitale et (4) d’autres communes (les autres communes qui n’appartiennent pas aux groupes mentionnés ci-dessus) pour les dix procédures les plus fréquentes d’hospitalisation à Porto Alegre en complexité moyenne, qui ont eu comme fonction principale d’expliquer les résultats des principaux. L’étude a été élaborée en quatre étapes : le téléchargement et le traitement de la base d’hospitalisations du Système d’Information Hospitalaire Décentralisé – SIHD de DATASUS – Départ d’Informatique du Système Unique de Santé; la lecture des résolutions de la « Comissão Intergestores Bipartite do Rio Grande do Sul » (Commission Intergestionnaires Bipartite de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul) – CIB/RS; la lecture des données virtuelles de santé sur les articles qui pourraient contribuer à la compréhension de l’information disponibilisée; et enfin, des visites réalisées aux Centrales de Régulation de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul et de la commune de Porto Alegre. Les résultats ont été démontrés en trois phases, les habitants de la « Região Saúde 1 » – les hospitalisations locales dans la « Região de Saúde 10 », les flux d’hospitalisation à Porto Alegre – de Moyenne Complexité et le comparatif des groupes. En ce qui concerne le groupe principal de l’étude, la procédure d’accouchement naturel a été la plus fréquente, dans la tranche de complexité moyenne qui est l’axe de la recherche, suivies par l’accouchement par césarienne et les procédures concernant l’oncologie. L’apport principal de ce travail a été celui de confirmer l’hypothèse que le plus grand nombre d’hospitalisations à Porto Alegre concernant la complexité moyenne est issue de leurs habitants et de leur Région de Santé. Nous avons pu conclure que la régionalisation tente de s’établir à travers l’effort des centrales de régulation afin de se structurer et d’utiliser l’information pour la planification dans le domaine de la santé et l’optimisation des procédures. / Diese Studie versucht, einen Teil der Regionalisierung der Krankenversorgung in Brasilien zu verstehen. Dafür wurden die Internierungen untersucht, die von Gemeinden der Gesundheitsregion 10 (Hauptstadt/Vale do Gravataí) im Bundesstaat Rio Grande do Sul an Krankenhäuser in Porto Alegre weitergeleitet wurden. Dazu wurden die Internierungsstatistiken der Stadt von 2008 bis 2013 ausgewertet. Hierfür wurden zwei Hauptgruppen miteinander verglichen (1) Gemeinden der Region 10 und (2) die zehn Gemeinden mit den meisten Internierungen in Porto Alegre und zwei weitere Gruppen (3) Internierungen von Einwohnern Porto Alegres in der Hauptstadt selbst und (4) andere Gemeinden (weitere Gemeinden die nicht Teil der genannten Gruppen sind). Ausgewertet wurden die zehn häufigsten Internierungsgründe mittlerer Komplexität deren Hauptfunktion war, die Ergebnisse der Hauptgruppen zu erklären. Die Studie wurde in vier Etappen durchgeführt : Download und Verarbeitung der krankenhäuslichen Internierungsdatenbank des Dezentralisierten Krankenhausinformationssystems (SIHD) des DATASUS ; das Lesen der Resolutionen der Bipartitenkommission von Rio Grande do Sul (CIB/RS) ; das Lesen virtueller Datenbanken mit Artikeln aus dem Gesundheitswesen, die zum Verständnis der zur Verfügung gestellten Information beitragen ; und, zum Schluß, Besuche der Koordinierungsstellen des Bundesstaates Rio Grande do Sul und der Stadt Porto Alegre. Die Ergebnisse gliedern sich in drei Phasen : Bewohner der Gesundheitsregion 10 – lokale Internierungen in der Gesundheitsregion 10, die Verlegungen nach Porto Alegre (mittlere Komplexität) und der Vergleich der Gruppen. Für die Hauptgruppe der Studie war eine normale Entbindung der häufigste Internierungsgrund in der mittleren Komplexität, dem Fokus dieser Studie, gefolgt von Geburten mit Kaiserschnitt und onkologischen Eingriffen. Der größte Beitrag dieser Arbeit ist die Bestätigung der Hypothese, dass die größte Zahl der Internierungen mit mittlerer Komplexität in Porto Alegre auf Einwohner der Stadt und ihrer eigenen Gesundheitsregion zurück geht. Daraus wird geschlossen, dass die Regionalisierung versucht, sich zu etablieren, über die Bemühungen der Koordinierungsstellen sich zu strukturieren und die Informationen für die Organisation des Gesundheitswesens und die Optimierung der Prozesse zu nutzen. / O presente estudo buscou compreender uma parte da regionalização da saúde no Brasil, por meio das internações encaminhadas por municípios da Região de Saúde Capital Vale do Gravataí – Região de Saúde 10, do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, para hospitais de Porto Alegre, através dos fluxos da internação no município, de 2008 a 2013. Para tanto, foram comparados dois grupos principais (1) municípios da Região 10 e (2) os dez municípios mais frequentes em internação em Porto Alegre; e dois grupos complementares internações de residentes de (3) Porto Alegre na Capital e (4) outros municípios (demais municípios que não fizeram parte dos grupos já citados) para os dez procedimentos mais frequentes em internação em Porto Alegre para a média complexidade,que tiveram como principal função explicar os resultados dos principais. O estudo se desenvolveu em quatro etapas: download e processamento da base de internação hospitalar do Sistema de Informação Hospitalar Descentralizado – SIHD do DATASUS; leitura das resoluções da Comissão Intergestores Bipartite do Rio Grande do Sul – CIB/RS; leitura das bases virtuais de saúde de artigos que contribuíssem na compreensão da informação disponibilizada; e por fim, visitas realizadas às Centrais de Regulação do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul e do Município de Porto Alegre. Os resultados se mostraram em três fases, os residentes da Região de saúde 10 – Internações locais na Região de Saúde 10, os fluxos de internação para Porto Alegre - Média Complexidade e o comparativo dos grupos. Para o grupo principal do estudo o procedimento parto normal apareceu como mais frequente, seguido por parto cesariano e procedimentos relacionados à oncologia. A principal contribuição do trabalho foi confirmar a hipótese de que o maior número de internações em Porto Alegre para a média complexidade é oriunda de seus residentes e de sua própria Região de Saúde. Conclui-se que a regionalização tenta se estabelecer através de um esforço das centrais de regulações para se estruturarem e utilizarem a informação para o planejamento em saúde e otimização dos processos. / This study aimed to understand part of the health regionalization in Brazil, through the referral of admissions from Capital/ Gravataí Valley health region (10), Rio Grande do Sul State, to Porto Alegre hospitals, and through admission flows, from 2008 to 2013. For this purpose, comparisons between two main groups – (1) municipalities in Region 10 and (2) the ten most frequent municipalities in Porto Alegre admissions (10) - and two complementary groups : admissions of Porto Alegre residents (3) and (4) other municipalities (those which were not part of the groups already mentioned) - for the ten most frequent procedures in Porto Alegre admissions for medium complexity were made, in order to explain the results of the main groups. The study was conducted in four stages: hospitalization database download and processing from Hospital Information System Decentralization (SIHD) - DATASUS; Rio Grande do Sul Bipartite Inter-managerial Commissions (CIBs) - CIB / RS resolutions reading; health virtual database and publication reading for a better comprehension of the information provided; and visits to Regulatory Centers of Rio Grande do Sul state and Porto Alegre city. The results were presented in three phases: Health Region 10 residents - local admissions, Porto Alegre admission flows - medium complexity, and group comparison. For the main study group, normal delivery procedure appeared as the most frequent, followed by cesarean and oncology related procedures. The main outcome of this work was to confirm the hypothesis that the largest number of admissions in Porto Alegre for medium complexity comes from its residents and its own Health Region. To conclude, regionalization tries to establish itself through regulatory centers effort to structure themselves and use the information for health planning and process optimization. / Este estudio tuvo la finalidad de comprender una parte de la regionalización de la salud en Brasil, a través de las hospitalizaciones canalizadas por municipios de la Región de Salud 10 del Estado de Rio Grande do Sul, utilizando los datos de número de ingresos hospitalarios por municipio entre los años 2008 y 2013. Para ello fueron comparados dos grupos principales: (1) municipios de la Región 10, (2) los diez municipios con mayor números de hospitalizaciones en Porto Alegre; así como dos grupos complementarios: (3) hospitalizaciones de residentes de la capital Porto Alegre, (4) demás municipios que no estan incluidos en los grupos antes mencionados. En este caso, fueron considerados los diez procedimientos más frecuentes de mediana complejidad que son motivo de hospitalización en Porto Alegre. Este trabajo se desarrollo en cuatro etapas: procesamiento de la base de datos de ingresos hospitalarios del Sistema de Información Hospitalaria Descentralizado, lectura de las resoluciones de la Comisión Intergestores Bipartita de Rio Grande do Sul, lectura de las bases de datos digitales cuyos artículos del área de la salud contribuyeran en la comprensión de la información disponible, y finalmente, visitas realizadas a las Centrales de Regulación del Estado Rio Grande do Sul y del municipio de Porto Alegre. Los resultados se presentaron en 3 etapas de acuerdo a: los residentes de la Región de Salud 10 - hospitalizaciones locales, el número de ingresos hospitalarios en Porto Alegre - mediana complejidad y la comparación entre grupos principales y complementarios. Para el grupo principal, objeto de esta investigación, el procedimiento de mediana complejidad más frecuente fue el parto normal, seguido por parto por cesárea y procedimientos oncológicos. La contribución más importante de este trabajo fue confirmar la hipótesis sobre que el mayor número de ingresos hospitalarios por casos de mediana complejidad en Porto Alegre, corresponde a los oriundos de esta ciudad y de la propia Región de Salud. Se concluye que la regionalización busca establecerse a través de los esfuerzos de las centrales de regulaciones, para estructurar y utilizar la información en la planificación de salud y optimización de los procesos.

Cette étude a cherché à comprendre une partie de la régionalisation de la santé au Brésil, par le biais des hospitalisations envoyées par les communes de la « Região de Saúde Capital Vale do Gravataí – Região de Saúde 10 » (Région de Santé Capitale Vale do Gravataí – Région de Santé 10), de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul, vers les hôpitaux de Porto Alegre, par l’intermédiaire du flux d’hospitalisations de cette commune, de 2008 à 2013. Pour ce faire, ont été comparés deux groupes principaux (1) les communes de la « Região 10 » et les (2) dix communes plus fréquents en hospitalisation à Porto Alegre et aussi deux groupes complémentaires d’hospitalisation d’habitants de : (3) Porto Alegre dans la capitale et (4) d’autres communes (les autres communes qui n’appartiennent pas aux groupes mentionnés ci-dessus) pour les dix procédures les plus fréquentes d’hospitalisation à Porto Alegre en complexité moyenne, qui ont eu comme fonction principale d’expliquer les résultats des principaux. L’étude a été élaborée en quatre étapes : le téléchargement et le traitement de la base d’hospitalisations du Système d’Information Hospitalaire Décentralisé – SIHD de DATASUS – Départ d’Informatique du Système Unique de Santé; la lecture des résolutions de la « Comissão Intergestores Bipartite do Rio Grande do Sul » (Commission Intergestionnaires Bipartite de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul) – CIB/RS; la lecture des données virtuelles de santé sur les articles qui pourraient contribuer à la compréhension de l’information disponibilisée; et enfin, des visites réalisées aux Centrales de Régulation de l’État de Rio Grande do Sul et de la commune de Porto Alegre. Les résultats ont été démontrés en trois phases, les habitants de la « Região Saúde 1 » – les hospitalisations locales dans la « Região de Saúde 10 », les flux d’hospitalisation à Porto Alegre – de Moyenne Complexité et le comparatif des groupes. En ce qui concerne le groupe principal de l’étude, la procédure d’accouchement naturel a été la plus fréquente, dans la tranche de complexité moyenne qui est l’axe de la recherche, suivies par l’accouchement par césarienne et les procédures concernant l’oncologie. L’apport principal de ce travail a été celui de confirmer l’hypothèse que le plus grand nombre d’hospitalisations à Porto Alegre concernant la complexité moyenne est issue de leurs habitants et de leur Région de Santé. Nous avons pu conclure que la régionalisation tente de s’établir à travers l’effort des centrales de régulation afin de se structurer et d’utiliser l’information pour la planification dans le domaine de la santé et l’optimisation des procédures. / Diese Studie versucht, einen Teil der Regionalisierung der Krankenversorgung in Brasilien zu verstehen. Dafür wurden die Internierungen untersucht, die von Gemeinden der Gesundheitsregion 10 (Hauptstadt/Vale do Gravataí) im Bundesstaat Rio Grande do Sul an Krankenhäuser in Porto Alegre weitergeleitet wurden. Dazu wurden die Internierungsstatistiken der Stadt von 2008 bis 2013 ausgewertet. Hierfür wurden zwei Hauptgruppen miteinander verglichen (1) Gemeinden der Region 10 und (2) die zehn Gemeinden mit den meisten Internierungen in Porto Alegre und zwei weitere Gruppen (3) Internierungen von Einwohnern Porto Alegres in der Hauptstadt selbst und (4) andere Gemeinden (weitere Gemeinden die nicht Teil der genannten Gruppen sind). Ausgewertet wurden die zehn häufigsten Internierungsgründe mittlerer Komplexität deren Hauptfunktion war, die Ergebnisse der Hauptgruppen zu erklären. Die Studie wurde in vier Etappen durchgeführt : Download und Verarbeitung der krankenhäuslichen Internierungsdatenbank des Dezentralisierten Krankenhausinformationssystems (SIHD) des DATASUS ; das Lesen der Resolutionen der Bipartitenkommission von Rio Grande do Sul (CIB/RS) ; das Lesen virtueller Datenbanken mit Artikeln aus dem Gesundheitswesen, die zum Verständnis der zur Verfügung gestellten Information beitragen ; und, zum Schluß, Besuche der Koordinierungsstellen des Bundesstaates Rio Grande do Sul und der Stadt Porto Alegre. Die Ergebnisse gliedern sich in drei Phasen : Bewohner der Gesundheitsregion 10 – lokale Internierungen in der Gesundheitsregion 10, die Verlegungen nach Porto Alegre (mittlere Komplexität) und der Vergleich der Gruppen. Für die Hauptgruppe der Studie war eine normale Entbindung der häufigste Internierungsgrund in der mittleren Komplexität, dem Fokus dieser Studie, gefolgt von Geburten mit Kaiserschnitt und onkologischen Eingriffen. Der größte Beitrag dieser Arbeit ist die Bestätigung der Hypothese, dass die größte Zahl der Internierungen mit mittlerer Komplexität in Porto Alegre auf Einwohner der Stadt und ihrer eigenen Gesundheitsregion zurück geht. Daraus wird geschlossen, dass die Regionalisierung versucht, sich zu etablieren, über die Bemühungen der Koordinierungsstellen sich zu strukturieren und die Informationen für die Organisation des Gesundheitswesens und die Optimierung der Prozesse zu nutzen. / O presente estudo buscou compreender uma parte da regionalização da saúde no Brasil, por meio das internações encaminhadas por municípios da Região de Saúde Capital Vale do Gravataí – Região de Saúde 10, do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, para hospitais de Porto Alegre, através dos fluxos da internação no município, de 2008 a 2013. Para tanto, foram comparados dois grupos principais (1) municípios da Região 10 e (2) os dez municípios mais frequentes em internação em Porto Alegre; e dois grupos complementares internações de residentes de (3) Porto Alegre na Capital e (4) outros municípios (demais municípios que não fizeram parte dos grupos já citados) para os dez procedimentos mais frequentes em internação em Porto Alegre para a média complexidade,que tiveram como principal função explicar os resultados dos principais. O estudo se desenvolveu em quatro etapas: download e processamento da base de internação hospitalar do Sistema de Informação Hospitalar Descentralizado – SIHD do DATASUS; leitura das resoluções da Comissão Intergestores Bipartite do Rio Grande do Sul – CIB/RS; leitura das bases virtuais de saúde de artigos que contribuíssem na compreensão da informação disponibilizada; e por fim, visitas realizadas às Centrais de Regulação do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul e do Município de Porto Alegre. Os resultados se mostraram em três fases, os residentes da Região de saúde 10 – Internações locais na Região de Saúde 10, os fluxos de internação para Porto Alegre - Média Complexidade e o comparativo dos grupos. Para o grupo principal do estudo o procedimento parto normal apareceu como mais frequente, seguido por parto cesariano e procedimentos relacionados à oncologia. A principal contribuição do trabalho foi confirmar a hipótese de que o maior número de internações em Porto Alegre para a média complexidade é oriunda de seus residentes e de sua própria Região de Saúde. Conclui-se que a regionalização tenta se estabelecer através de um esforço das centrais de regulações para se estruturarem e utilizarem a informação para o planejamento em saúde e otimização dos processos. / This study aimed to understand part of the health regionalization in Brazil, through the referral of admissions from Capital/ Gravataí Valley health region (10), Rio Grande do Sul State, to Porto Alegre hospitals, and through admission flows, from 2008 to 2013. For this purpose, comparisons between two main groups – (1) municipalities in Region 10 and (2) the ten most frequent municipalities in Porto Alegre admissions (10) - and two complementary groups : admissions of Porto Alegre residents (3) and (4) other municipalities (those which were not part of the groups already mentioned) - for the ten most frequent procedures in Porto Alegre admissions for medium complexity were made, in order to explain the results of the main groups. The study was conducted in four stages: hospitalization database download and processing from Hospital Information System Decentralization (SIHD) - DATASUS; Rio Grande do Sul Bipartite Inter-managerial Commissions (CIBs) - CIB / RS resolutions reading; health virtual database and publication reading for a better comprehension of the information provided; and visits to Regulatory Centers of Rio Grande do Sul state and Porto Alegre city. The results were presented in three phases: Health Region 10 residents - local admissions, Porto Alegre admission flows - medium complexity, and group comparison. For the main study group, normal delivery procedure appeared as the most frequent, followed by cesarean and oncology related procedures. The main outcome of this work was to confirm the hypothesis that the largest number of admissions in Porto Alegre for medium complexity comes from its residents and its own Health Region. To conclude, regionalization tries to establish itself through regulatory centers effort to structure themselves and use the information for health planning and process optimization. / Este estudio tuvo la finalidad de comprender una parte de la regionalización de la salud en Brasil, a través de las hospitalizaciones canalizadas por municipios de la Región de Salud 10 del Estado de Rio Grande do Sul, utilizando los datos de número de ingresos hospitalarios por municipio entre los años 2008 y 2013. Para ello fueron comparados dos grupos principales: (1) municipios de la Región 10, (2) los diez municipios con mayor números de hospitalizaciones en Porto Alegre; así como dos grupos complementarios: (3) hospitalizaciones de residentes de la capital Porto Alegre, (4) demás municipios que no estan incluidos en los grupos antes mencionados. En este caso, fueron considerados los diez procedimientos más frecuentes de mediana complejidad que son motivo de hospitalización en Porto Alegre. Este trabajo se desarrollo en cuatro etapas: procesamiento de la base de datos de ingresos hospitalarios del Sistema de Información Hospitalaria Descentralizado, lectura de las resoluciones de la Comisión Intergestores Bipartita de Rio Grande do Sul, lectura de las bases de datos digitales cuyos artículos del área de la salud contribuyeran en la comprensión de la información disponible, y finalmente, visitas realizadas a las Centrales de Regulación del Estado Rio Grande do Sul y del municipio de Porto Alegre. Los resultados se presentaron en 3 etapas de acuerdo a: los residentes de la Región de Salud 10 - hospitalizaciones locales, el número de ingresos hospitalarios en Porto Alegre - mediana complejidad y la comparación entre grupos principales y complementarios. Para el grupo principal, objeto de esta investigación, el procedimiento de mediana complejidad más frecuente fue el parto normal, seguido por parto por cesárea y procedimientos oncológicos. La contribución más importante de este trabajo fue confirmar la hipótesis sobre que el mayor número de ingresos hospitalarios por casos de mediana complejidad en Porto Alegre, corresponde a los oriundos de esta ciudad y de la propia Región de Salud. Se concluye que la regionalización busca establecerse a través de los esfuerzos de las centrales de regulaciones, para estructurar y utilizar la información en la planificación de salud y optimización de los procesos.