OBJECTIVE:To assess the quality of services offered by health service providers, according to the perception of consumers. METHODS:A cross-sectional study with 360 consumers from seven health service providers in the metropolitan area of Curitiba, Southern Brazil, in 2008, was performed. An individual questionnaire measuring the consumers' preferences in relation to six attributes (location of service points; effectiveness of doctors, clinics and hospitals; promptness and kindness when caring for patients and family members; ease of access to the authorization forms for consultations; price; diversity of available doctors, clinics and hospitals) for each one of the analyzed health service providers was carried out. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a multiple criteria tool for decision analysis and planning, was used to analyze the responses. RESULTS:The attribute most valued by the consumers was "price". The companies were grouped into two sets, regarding the mentioned attributes: two had lower preference (between 19% and 23% ) and fi ve, higher preference (around 10% each). CONCLUSIONS:With this type of research, health service providers could reshape their structures, processes, prices and accredited networks, in order to improve their market strategy.

One of the most important features to be considered by health service providers when developing and promoting their products (or services) is the consumers' perception of their products' (services') attributes. The purpose of this study is to define the hierarchy for the attributes of services developed by major health plan operators in the city of Curitiba (PR) as perceived their consumers. The classical analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique, a multicriteria tool for decision analysis and planning, was used to analyze seven companies and six attributes of each of them. The results show that the most meaningful attribute for health service consumers is the "price" and that companies can be separated into the following groups: HP1 and HP2 (Health Plans 1 and 2, with approximately 23% and 19% of consumers preferring each one) and HP3, HP4, HP5, HP6 and HP7 (with approximately 10% of consumers preferring each). Based on the results for each attribute analyzed, the conditions exist for the companies to redefine their structures, processes, prices, and service providers to reach their target customers.

Clay minerals are widespread in natural systems and have been widely used for the removal of pollutants. In this study, natural expanded vermiculite was used in adsorption tests to remove ammonium nitrogen from landfill leachate. The modification of vermiculite was carried out using NaOH and HCl, and for both modifications the best concentration was 0.1 mol/L. The results produced by XRD (X-ray diffraction) showed that Al replaced K after modification of the vermiculite using HCl and that Mg and Na replaced K after modification using NaOH. It was observed that the adsorption capacity increased as the percentage in mass of K diminished. The Langmuir is the isotherm that presents the best fit of the data, and the values of RL (the Langmuir coefficient) suggest that the adsorption is linear. The thermodynamic parameters indicate that the process is spontaneous and endothermic, that there is a high affinity between the adsorbate and the adsorbent, and that physical adsorption is prevalent.

Um dos mais importantes aspectos a ser considerado pelas operadoras de saúde no desenvolvimento de seus produtos (ou serviços) e na divulgação dos mesmos é a percepção dos consumidores com relação aos atributos de seus produtos (ou serviços). O objetivo deste artigo é organizar e hierarquizar os atributos dos serviços desenvolvidos pelas principais empresas operadoras de planos de saúde do município de Curitiba, PR, segundo a percepção de seus consumidores. Para tanto, fez-se uso da técnica clássica Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), ferramenta de análise de decisão e planejamento de múltiplos critérios, através da qual foram analisadas sete empresas e seis atributos de cada uma delas. Os resultados mostram que o atributo mais significativo aos usuários é o “preço” e, além disso, que as empresas podem ser agrupadas em dois conjuntos de preferências: PS1 e PS2 (Planos de Saúde 1 e 2 com cerca de 23% e 19% das preferências cada um deles) e PS3, PS4, PS5, PS6 e PS7 (com cerca de 10% cada). A partir dos resultados de cada atributo analisado, as empresas têm condições de redefinir suas estruturas, processos, preços e redes credenciadas com o objetivo de sensibilizar seus públicos-alvos. Palavras-chave: Processo AHP; Atributos de Operadoras de Saúde; Percepção dos consumidores