Disponibilidad de información ？Un cuello de botella para investigación y evaluación en políticas de salud?

objectives: this article describes the difficulties encountered in obtaining information about health services, sanitation and health insurance coverage supply, use and coverage regarding a sample of colombian municipalities during 1991-2000. the availability of information is also analysed in terms of decentralisation and municipal development. methods: this was a cross-sectional study of a random stratified sample of 495 colombian municipalities; information regarding the variables of interest was requested at municipal and departmental level and from national sources. a scale was constructed for measuring the availability of information at local level. non-parametric statistics were used for testing differences in availability of information in terms of certification and municipal category. results: applying the scale revealed 51% availability of data regarding health service supply, 39% for data regarding service use and 45% for both types of information (supply and demand taken together). no information was available in 32% of the municipalities. information was more readily available in non-certified and less developed municipalities. conclusions: study findings provided indirect evidence of difficulty in obtaining information regarding health systems at both municipal and departmental levels; this represents an important obstacle for health system management and evaluating performance, as well as for research and widening knowledge (and availability to such knowledge) in this area.