Development and validation of operational and strategic management indices for Dental Specialty Centers

Abstract

The study developed and validated two indices for evaluating Dental Specialty Centers (CEO):
the Operational Management Evaluation Index (IAGE-CEO), focused on operational management, and
the Strategic Management Evaluation Index (IAGE-CEO), focused on strategic management. This was a
methodological study using data from the 2nd Cycle of External Evaluation of the National Program for
Improving Access and Quality of Dental Specialty Centers (PMAQ-CEO), involving 1,042 services in Brazil.
The questions in Module II were analyzed by eight consultants selected through electronic invitation, with
expertise in health management, oral health policies and familiarity with the PMAQ-CEO, who composed the
Delphi panel. In the IAGO-CEO, 31 questions were initially evaluated and 24 composed the final instrument;
in the IAGE-CEO, of the 17 questions raised, 11 were considered pertinent. Exploratory factor analysis and

validation tests (KMO, Bartlett, and Cronbach’s alpha) were applied, along with multinomial logistic regres-
sion. The IAGO-CEO explained 20.3% of the variance in certification scores, highlighting ‘Clinical Protocols’

and ‘Absenteeism’. The IAGE-CEO explained 49.95%, mainly related to planning and continuing education.
Both indices were associated with higher classifications and lower probability of poor classification, proving
to be valid tools for evaluating management in specialized oral health care.