[An integrated methodology for Monitoring and Evaluating the Public Policies and Health Situation of the Elderly: SISAP-Idoso].

This article examines the strategy for construction of a System of Indicators for Monitoring the Public Policies and Health Situation of the Elderly (SISAP-Idoso). The System seeks to assess the production of health information with the political/institutional decision, serving as a management tool in the health of the elderly. Its focus is to meet the need of the Unified Health System municipal managers for information for planning and controlling health programs. The paper presents the methods used in the creation of the Conceptual Matrix for Health Dimensions and Conceptual Matrix for Monitoring and Evaluation of Policies. The first systematizes a panel of indicators to diagnose the health condition of the elderly, a procedure without which one cannot properly plan health actions. The second selects indicators to monitor implementation and evaluate the results of health policies and programs for the elderly. The System became an important tool to support the formulation and monitoring of health programs, particularly at the local level. Moreover, it is a powerful tool of social control and population empowerment. The full incorporation of the System depends on the consolidation of information and indicators as parts of the policy process.