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Objective. To compare two methods--the "ballot box" method and the "indirect questioning" method--for estimating the frequency of induced abortions in population-based studies. Methods. A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted with a representative sample of 3 002 women between 15 and 49 years of age living in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The women were selected through multistage sampling and randomly assigned to answer questions concerning induced abortion with one of the two methods, after they had answered a general questionnaire that collected socioeconomic and demographic information. With the "ballot box" method, women received a small piece of paper containing direct questions on abortion. Each woman marked her answers on the paper and then deposited it into a small "ballot box" carried by the interviewer, thus assuring the confidentiality of the responses. With the second method, the interviewer verbally asked the woman a series of questions that indirectly inquired about abortion. Results. Among the women assigned to the ballot box method, 7.2% reported having induced at least one abortion, versus 3.8% of the women assigned to the indirect questioning method. The ratio between the two methods was 1.89 (95% confidence interval: 1.39 to 2.60; P < 0.001). Of the women surveyed who were 45-49 years old (at, the end of their reproductive life) and answered using the ballot box method, 12% of them reported having had at least one induced abortion in their lifetime. Among the women who answered using the ballot box method, the main reasons they gave for having had an abortion were economic difficulties, being too young, and being single. Approximately half of the women responding to the ballot box method questions reported they had used unsafe procedures to induce abortion, with 13% of them using misoprostol. Conclusions. The ballot box method was suitable for studying the frequency of induced abortion and for researching... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, which focuses on the Brazilian Ministry of Health's agenda as the national health authority between 1990 and 2002, identifies and analyzes Ministry priorities. Three ,lain policies were identified for the period: decentralization, establishment of a family health program, and the policy to combat AIDS. In general, the initial design of these policies was consistent with the guidelines of the Brazilian public health system (SUS). Howitzer, discrepancies were found between the universalistic agenda of the Brazilian health reform carried out in the 1980s and the hegemonic agenda of state reform that prevailed in the country in the 1990s, which had liberal roots and did not favor the expansion of government actions and comprehensive social policies. Within this unfavorable political and economic context, the development of specific health policies prioritized by the Brazilian Ministry of Health revealed unsolved problems and gaps in the public health system and limitations in the Ministry's ability to exercise its role as national health authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to present and discuss Brazilian policy concerning actions to protect breastfeeding, especially the history, international and national background, limitations, and perspectives of the Brazilian Guidelines for the Marketing of Baby Food, Pacifiers and Bottles. The Brazilian Guidelines, which play a crucial role in protecting breastfeeding against industry marketing strategies, were based on the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, proposed by the World Health Organization in 1981. The first version of the Brazilian Guidelines was released in 1988, and there were subsequent revisions in 1992 and 2001/2002. In 2006, the Guidelines became national law. However, the strides made over this period in terms of regulation have been few because the law is not always observed. Thus, it is essential that all actors involved, including government officials, manufacturers and sellers of baby food and other baby products, teaching and health professionals and their associations, international bodies, and non-governmental organizations make a commitment to enforce the current law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]