Editorial

Abstract

Dear readers, This year, when the Instituto de Saúde is celebrating its 50th anniversary, it is with great satisfaction that we offer this edition of BIS, with the purpose of discuss the relevance of qualitative evidence to illuminate policy decision making of health. All over the world interest has grown by qualitative evidence, given the perception that the decision-making processes need to consider factors related to the social, cultural and axiological context, especially for the implementation of policies in order to improve their effectiveness. In this context, the syntheses of qualitative evidence (SEQ) appear as the first line of efforts to systematize and translate, in a transparent, the scientific knowledge available in the qualitative primary studies, in order to to make it an affordable grant in time timely for decision making.