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. 2023 Mar 24;20(7):5258.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20075258.

Salus Platform: A Digital Health Solution Tool for Managing Syphilis Cases in Brazil-A Comparative Analysis

Talita Brito  1   2 , Thaísa Lima  1   3 , Aliete Cunha-Oliveira  2   4 , André Noronha  1   5 , Cintia Brito  1   6 , Fernando Farias  1   7 , Sedir Morais  1 , Jailton Paiva  1   8 , Cintia Honorato  1   9 , Paulo Queirós  2 , Sagrario Gómez-Cantarino  2   10 , Márcia Lucena  11 , Ricardo Valentim  1   12
Affiliations

Salus Platform: A Digital Health Solution Tool for Managing Syphilis Cases in Brazil-A Comparative Analysis

Talita Brito et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

(1) Introduction: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that constitutes a serious public health problem in Brazil and worldwide; (2) Methods: This was a descriptive and exploratory study that sought to analyze and compare the characteristics of Brazilian health systems with a new platform (Salus) developed by the Laboratory of Technological Innovation in Health in the scope of notification and management of disease data, including syphilis. In addition, this analysis aimed to assess whether Salus fully meets the necessary data management fields and can be indicated as a tool to improve health management in the context of syphilis in Brazil. (3) Results: In this study, the Salus functionalities were demonstrated and compared with the current Brazilian systems by discovering the existing gaps in the evaluated systems. The gaps found may explain the delay in meeting demands, the difficulty of making routine therapeutic follow-ups, in addition to interference with the vital purpose of follow-up in the epidemiological surveillance of diseases. As a result, Salus demonstrates functionalities that surpass all others and meet case management demands in a superior way to the systems currently used in the country. (4) Conclusions: The Brazilian health information systems related to the response to syphilis do not fulfill the purpose for which they were developed. Instead, they contribute to the fragmentation of health data and information, delays in diagnosis, incomplete case management, and loss of data due to inconsistencies and inadequate reporting. In addition, they are systems without interconnection, which do not articulate epidemiological surveillance actions with primary health care. All these factors may be obscuring accurate data on syphilis in Brazil, resulting in high and unnecessary public spending and late care for users of the Unified Health System (SUS).

Keywords: Salus; acquired syphilis; congenital syphilis; epidemiological monitoring; information system; maternal syphilis; primary attention; sexual infection.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be interpreted as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Case panel.
Figure A2
Figure A2
Indicators panel.
Figure A3
Figure A3
Geolocation.
Figure A4
Figure A4
Reports.
Figure A5
Figure A5
Overdue cases.
Figure A6
Figure A6
Pregnant epidemiological background.
Figure A7
Figure A7
Partner treatment follow-up.
Figure A8
Figure A8
Exam results.
Figure A9
Figure A9
SINAN notification form.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of the architecture of the Salus Platform. Source: adapted from [35].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Implementation map of the Salus Platform in the Brazilian states. Source: elaboration of the authors.
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