Socioeconomic, demographic and technological changes as well as their implications for public policies call for the production by governmental institutions for comparable and updated information. Population-based information at the national level is essential for planning and monitoring health policies and their constitutional principles, such as universal and equitable access to healthcare. The Brazilian National Household Survey (PNAD) is a relevant data source for the knowledge and monitoring of important aspects of health status as well as of the policies directed toward the access and use of health services. In this paper, we present a brief history of the objectives, frequency and geographical coverage of PNAD in Brazil over the past four decades. Emphasis is placed on the main contents of its Health Supplements in 1981, 1986, 1998 and 2003. The publication of technical and academic texts based on these data shows that they can be used to monitor access and utilization of health services in different geographical and socioeconomic contexts. We argue in favor of an in-depth discussion on the continuity of the historical series initiated in 1998, in face of the implementation in the near future of the Household Surveys Integrated System (SIPD) by IBGE.
Household Surveys Integrated System; PNAD; Health; Access to health services; Health services utilization
