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Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Kineanthropometry & Human Performance is the property of Brazilian Journal of Kineanthropometry & Human Performance and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The obesity epidemic is rapidly advancing in South America, leading to inevitable health consequences. Argentinian and Brazilian health policies try to become adapted to the new economic and social framework that follows from this epidemic. It is in incipient and ineffective control so far since the prevalence of obesity was not restrained. The Argentine national legislation is more advanced, through the so-called "Ley de Obesidad." In Brazil, there are numerous local initiatives but still not a comprehensive law. National policies relating to decisions regarding obesity are discussed in this paper. Trends in decisions issued in higher courts of Argentina (Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation--CSJN) and Brazil (Supreme Court of Justice--STF), in the last 15 years, seek to clarify the approach of each country and court's resolutions. Marked differences were found in their positions. Finally, legal and health solutions to this obesity epidemic are proposed.

The paper offers a historical retrospective of Brazil's Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), including its background and its legacy on its current design. It begins describing some of the system's structural problems, especially the co-existence of a public system alongside a private one. It identifies problems that have hampered a firmer solidification of SUS, while it also highlights the immense import of establishing a unified, universal system in a country the size of Brazil. The discussion includes the effects of the system, which has represented a major change in the field of social rights, introducing new actors, and internalizing the notion of health as a right. Lastly, recent developments that have put SUS on the public agenda are discussed.

Copyright of Ciência Animal Brasileira is the property of Universidade Federal de Goias, Escola de Veterinaria and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Data herein reported and discussed refer to vaccination with the recombinant fatty acid binding protein (FABP) family member of the schistosomes, called Sm14. This antigen was discovered and developed under a Brazilian platform led by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, from the Health Ministry in Brazil, and was assessed for safety and immunogenicity in healthy volunteers. This paper reviews past and recent outcomes of developmental phases of the Sm14-based anti schistosomiasis vaccine addressed to, ultimately, impact transmission of the second most prevalent parasitic endemic disease worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking and sedentary behavior, are among the main modifiable risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases. The workplace is regarded as an important site of potential health risks where preventive strategies can be effective. We investigated independent associations among psychosocial job strain, leisure-time physical inactivity, and smoking in public servants in the largest Brazilian adult cohort. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)-a multicenter prospective cohort study of civil servants. Our analytical samples comprised 11,779 and 11,963 current workers for, respectively, analyses of job strain and leisure-time physical activity and analyses of job strain and smoking. Job strain was assessed using the Brazilian version of the Swedish Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire; physical activity was evaluated using a short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. We also examined smoking status and number of cigarettes smoked per day. The association reported in this paper was assessed by means of multinomial and logistic regression, stratified by sex. Results: Among men, compared with low-strain activities (low demand and high control), job strain showed an association with physical inactivity (odds ratio [OR] = 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-1.64) or with the practice of physical activities of less than recommended duration (OR = 1.44; 95% CI = 1.15-1.82). Among women, greater likelihood of physical inactivity was identified among job-strain and passive-job groups (OR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.22-1.77 and OR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.20-1.67, respectively). Greater control at work was a protective factor for physical inactivity among both men and women. Social support at work was a protective factor for physical inactivity among women, as was smoking for both genders. We observed no association between demand or control dimensions and smoking. Conclusions: Job strain, job control, and social support were associated with physical activity. Social support at work was protective of smoking. Our results are comparable to those found in more developed countries; they provide additional evidence of an association between an adverse psychosocial work environment and health-related behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cadernos Saúde Coletiva is the property of Instituto de Estudos em Saude Colectiva (IESC) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Public law litigation has been used in many places to advance human rights related to health. In Brazil, such lawsuits usually request that the government pay for pharmaceuticals to individuals. But could litigation play a role in shaping public health policies to benefit communities? To explore this question, this paper focuses on lawsuits involving determinants of health, namely water and sanitation public policies. This paper discusses the results of an empirical study of 258 Brazilian court orders, issued in a 10-year period, that address requests for sewage collection and treatment. The data show that the Brazilian judiciary is willing to improve access to sanitation services. However, litigation has addressed fewer than 177 out of the 2,495 Brazilian municipalities that lack both sewage collection and treatment systems, and lawsuits are concentrated in the richer cities, not in the poorest ones. This paper suggests that public law litigation can be used to foster public health policies similar to the way in which structural reform litigation and the experimentalism approach between courts and defendants have influenced public policies and achieved institutional reform in schools and prisons. However, greater effort is needed to target initiatives that would reach the most disenfranchised communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hygeia: Revista Brasileira de Geografia Médica e da Saúde is the property of Hygeia: Revista Brasileira de Geografia Medica e da Saude and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of EURE is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug, and is associated with well-documented adverse health outcomes, both acute and chronic. Cannabis use prevalence in Brazil is lower than in high-use regions in the Americas (e.g., North America), but concentrated among young people. Frameworks for cannabis control are increasingly shifting towards public health-oriented principles, with some countries undertaking respective policy reforms. These frameworks require a continuum of population-level interventions (e.g., prevention and treatment) including targeted prevention of adverse health outcomes among users. In this context, and based on examples from other health fields, an international expert group developed the evidence-based Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG), originally for Canada, including a set of 10 recommendations based on systematic data reviews and expert consensus methods. The LRCUG form a scientific population-health prevention tool to reduce adverse public health impacts for broad application among cannabis users. In Canada, the LRCUG have been formally endorsed and are supported by leading national health organizations and government authorities within the continuum of cannabis interventions. As the LRCUG are being internationalized, this paper introduces the LRCUG's concept and content - including their original recommendations translated into Portuguese - to the Brazilian context as an evidence-based population-level intervention tool for uptake, dissemination, and discussion. Sociocultural adaptation may be required for meaningful implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is associated with environmental problems, economic losses, health and social inequalities. A number of European and US cities have implemented initiatives to promote multimodal modes of transport. In Latin America changes are occurring in public transport systems and a number of projects aimed at stimulating non-motorized modes of transport (walking and cycling) have already been implemented. Based on articles from peer-reviewed academic journals, this paper examines experiences in Bogotá (Colombia), Curitiba (Brazil), and Santiago (Chile), and identifies how changes to the transport system contribute to encourage active transportation. Bus rapid transit, ciclovias, bike paths/lanes, and car use restriction are initiatives that contribute to promoting active transportation in these cities. Few studies have been carried out on the relationship between transport and physical activity. Car ownership continues to increase. The public health sector needs to be a stronger activist in the transport policy decision-making process to incorporate health issues into the transport agenda in Latin America.

This paper addresses the issue of uncertainty in the measurements used in public health analysis and decision-making. The Shannon-Wiener entropy measure was adapted to express the uncertainty contained in counting causes of death in official vital statistics from Chile. Based on the findings, the authors conclude that metrological requirements in public health are as important as the measurements themselves. The study also considers and argues for the existence of uncertainty associated with the statistics' performative properties, both by the way the data are structured as a sort of syntax of reality and by exclusion of what remains beyond the quantitative modeling used in each case. Following the legacy of pragmatic thinking and using conceptual tools from the sociology of translation, the authors emphasize that by taking uncertainty into account, public health can contribute to a discussion on the relationship between technology, democracy, and formation of a participatory public.

The COVID-19 pandemic, a transformative event in modern society, has disrupted routine, work, behavior, and human relationships. Organizations, amidst the chaos, have innovatively adapted to the evolving situation. However, many countries were unprepared for the magnitude of the challenge, revealing the fragility of health responses due to inadequate leadership, insufficient resources, and poor information system integration. Structural changes in health systems are imperative, particularly in leadership, governance, human resources, financing, information systems, technology, and health service provision. This research utilizes the Technological Roadmapping method to analyze the health sector, focusing on public health, drawing on articles from SCOPUS and PubMed databases, and creating a roadmap extending to 2050. The research presents three long-term scenarios based on the literature-derived roadmap and explores various alternatives, including integrated care, telemedicine, Big Data utilization, nanotechnology, and Big Tech's AI services. The results underscore the anticipation of post-pandemic public health with high expectations, emphasizing the importance of integrating health history access, encouraging self-care, and leveraging technology for streamlined treatment. Practical implications include insights for decision makers and stakeholders to inform strategic planning and adapt to evolving industry demands, recognizing the significance of preventive services and the humanizing potential of technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inaugural AIDS Program in Brazil was established in São Paulo in 1983, with the Instituto Adolfo Lutz appointed for laboratory assistance. Subsequently, research on HIV infections and HIV/HTLV (HIV/HTLV-1 and HIV/HTLV-2) co-infections was conducted. This narrative review focuses on studies from the Immunology Department (1983–2017) that significantly influenced AIDS diagnosis or provided epidemiological data such as prevalence rates, sex, age, and risk factors. Twelve studies, encompassing over 8000 individuals, are discussed. During 1983–1985, nearly all AIDS cases were attributed to homosexual/bisexual men aged 31 years old. Subsequently, heterosexual men and women emerged as risk groups owing to intravenous drug use (IDU) and/or unprotected sexual intercourse with AIDS patients or multiple partners per year. From 1985 onwards, vertical transmission led to child infections. HIV/HTLV co-infection rates decreased over time, initially associated with male IDU, and in the 2010s with female IDU, and individuals aged >40 years. Trends in HIV and HIV/HTLV co-infections among younger men and women (<30 years of age) were observed from 2015 to 2017. The changing characteristics and risk groups for HIV and HIV/HTLV co-infections over the years underscore the necessity for ongoing public policies to prevent retrovirus transmission, particularly among adolescents and young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last several decades, Brazil has become both the world's leading soy producer and the world's leading consumer of hazardous pesticides. Despite identified links between pesticide exposure and carcinogenesis, there has been little populationlevel research on the effects of pesticide intensification on broader human health in Brazil. We estimate the relationship between expanded soy production--and related community exposure to pesticides--on childhood cancer incidence using 15 y of data on disease mortality. We find a statistically significant increase in pediatric leukemia following expanded local soy production, but timely access to treatment mitigates this relationship. We show that pesticide exposure likely occurs via water supply penetration. Our findings represent only the tip of the iceberg for substantial health externalities of high-input crop production and land use change. Our results are of particular interest in developing contexts with demand for intensified food production systems and underscore the need for stronger regulation of pesticides and increased public health attention to exposure in the broader community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practical methodologies that include food safety and hygiene education in pedagogical activities are strategies to prevent foodborne diseases (FBDs). Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge of 7th‐grade middle school students regarding food microbiology and food safety, and to apply workshop‐based educational strategies that focus on scientific literacy. The students (144) were initially evaluated using a Likert‐scale questionnaire (pre‐intervention, Q0) with ten objective questions on microbiology and food safety. Once the questionnaire was evaluated, interventions were conducted through five science workshops of 50 min, over a period of 5 months. The workshops included educational games, laboratory practices, videos, and lectures that addressed microorganisms that are known to cause the most common FBDs in Brazil. After each workshop, students were asked to express their opinions and understanding of the content through semi‐structured interviews. Six months after the end of the practical interventions, the students completed a second identical Likert‐scale questionnaire (post‐intervention, Q1), and the answers to both questionnaires (Q0 and Q1) were analyzed by calculating the middle rank. The middle rank of Q1 (mean = 0.65 ± 0.13) was 21% greater than the middle rank of Q0 (mean = 0.44 ± 0.16), and statistical significance was observed (p =.0135). This demonstrates that new information acquired during the workshops positively influenced learning. We believe that when practical approaches to food safety are included in school education as a priority, the prevalence of FBD will decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Oftalmologia is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Oftalmologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of RAP: Revista Brasileira de Administração Pública is the property of RAP: Revista Brasileira de Administracao Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to draw the historical framework of the Nutritional Care Program for People with Special Dietary Needs (PAN), the advancements and challenges in public policy for people with special dietary needs in the city of Curitiba, Parana state, Brazil. Historically, PAN was created to replace the former Enteral Diets and Special Milks Program and to organize nutritional care in the city, so as to offer better nutritional care to these people, based on the principles of the Unified Health System (SUS). In this perspective, we attempted to draw the historical framework of PAN in the management of public policies within the SUS, and at such a landmark, the impact in management, professionals and users involved in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the paper "Profile of judicial demands filed against the Ministry of Health for the provision of nutrition formulas," which focuses on the importance of nutrition to health, the judicial lawsuits against the Ministry of Health in Brazil, and the judicial system in the country.

Copyright of Revista FSA is the property of Revista FSA (Faculdade Santo Agostinho) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background A number of scientific papers on yellow fever have been published but no broad scientometric analysis on the published research of yellow fever has been reported. The aim of the article based study was to provide an in-depth evaluation of the yellow fever field using large-scale data analysis and employment of bibliometric indicators of production and quantity. Methods Data were retrieved from the Web of Science database (WoS) and analyzed as part of the NewQis platform. Then data were extracted from each file, transferred to databases and visualized as diagrams. Partially by means of density-equalizing mapping makes the findings clear and emphasizes the output of the analysis. Results In the study period from 1900 to 2012 a total of 5,053 yellow fever-associated items were published by 79 countries. The United States (USA) having the highest publication rate at 42% (n = 751) followed by far from Brazil (n = 203), France (n = 149) and the United Kingdom (n = 113). The most productive journals are the "Public Health Reports", the "American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene" and the"ournal of Virology". The gender analysis showed an overall steady increase of female authorship from 1950 to 2011. Brazil is the only country of the five most productive countries with a higher proportion of female scientists. Conclusions The present data shows an increase in research productivity over the entire study period, in particular an increase of female scientists. Brazil shows a majority of female authors, a fact that is confirmed by other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Applied Economics / Economía Aplicada is the property of FEA-RP, Universidade de Sao Paulo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present article analyzes the problematic of hygiene in the Luso-Brazilian medicine during the second half of 18th century. The chosen context to analysis is related to the changes of medical thought in Portugal along the period related to the appropriation of medical theories that circulated around the Enlightenment Europe. Besides, this paper approaches the ideas presented in medicine treatises of that time related to body care and health conservation, calling attention to the central role of hygiene along that period.

Context and Objective: Historically, different concepts of public health have influenced both the specific teaching in this field and its participation in general physician training. Starting from this assumption, the objective of this paper was to study how public health has been taught in undergraduate medical courses, focusing on structure and on how this has affected curriculum design in three universities in the State of Paraná, Brazil., Design and Setting: Qualitative investigation developed at Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL) and Universidade Positivo (UnicenP)., Methods: This study included a documentary analysis on pedagogical projects and on how these are actually experienced by those working on them. Eleven managers and 18 teachers were interviewed, as well as four groups of students that were formed in the three medical courses., Results: Between 5 and 20% of Public Health topics were shown to be included in the curriculums, depending on the teaching strategies used. However, they were always set up within academic approaches that were strongly linked to healthcare services. This situation has been strengthened through the degree of progress made by the National Health System (Sistema Unico de Saúde, SUS) in both cities (Curitiba and Londrina)., Conclusions: Regardless of the nature of the university, the administrative and academic setup of the course and of the different ways of incorporating teachers, Public Health is present and takes on considerable relevance for medical training, even if it does not constitute a linking thread within undergraduate medical courses.

The paper aims to discuss the way of equity can be reached by International Classification of Nursing Practice in Collective Health - CIPESC. CIPESC is a Brazilian system to classify nursing phenomena, it's used in nursing consultation in primary care. Equity in health means that everyone in the society has opportunity to improve their potential of health. CIPESC allows to know the nursing diagnoses and interventions and doing this allows knowing health needs and vulnerabilities of the social groups. Nursing interventions in the most vulnerable groups results interventions heading for equity. At the same time, it's possible to revisit work process in health aiming to better focusing nursing actions. Also it's possible to create new tools to the nursing interventions.

This paper presents a preliminary overview of policies and practices in health focusing equity. It begins with a brief description of the actions developed by the Collective Health Nursing Department of the School of Nursing of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, to support the struggle for social equity. It also presents the different perspectives of the concept that can be identified in health literature, each of them shaping distinct policies and practices.

The aim of this paper was to analyze two Brazilian scientific journals included in the SciELO Library of Public Health, using a group of bibliometric indicators and scrutinizing the articles most viewed. Cadernos de Saúde Pública was accessed 3,743.59 times per month, with an average of 30.31 citations per article. The 50 articles most viewed (6.72 to 524.5 views) were mostly published in Portuguese (92%). 42% were theoretical essays, 20% surveys, and 16% descriptive studies. 42% used argumentative techniques, 34% quantitative techniques, 18% qualitative techniques, and 6% mathematical modeling. The most common themes were: health and work (50%), epidemiology (22%), and environmental health (8%). Revista de Saúde Pública was accessed 1,590.97 times per month, with an average of 26.27 citations per article. The 50 articles most viewed (7.33 and 56.50 views) were all published in Portuguese: 46% were surveys, 14% databases analysis, and 12% systematic reviews. Quantitative techniques were adopted in 66% of such articles, while mathematical modeling was the same as observed in Cadernos de Saúde Pública, as were qualitative techniques. The most common themes were health services organization (22%), nutrition (22%), health and work (18%), epidemiology (12%), and environmental health (12%).

This is a comparative bibliometric study of the two main scientific journals in the Public Health field in Brazil: Cadernos de Saúde Pública (CSP) and Revista de Saúde Pública (RSP). Twenty-four issues of each periodical were analyzed, published from 1996 to 2003, comprising a sample of 819 articles (496 from CSP and 323 from RSP). The following elements in the articles were identified and analyzed: thematic area of the article and citation pattern of publications (articles in periodicals, books and/or book chapters, theses/dissertations, Internet documents, "gray" literature, and other types of publications). The resulting data showed that the majority of the articles represent the sub-area of "epidemiology". The citation pattern in the journals showed articles in periodicals in first place, followed by citations of books and/or book chapters. Papers in the sub-area "social sciences in health" published in CSP are exceptions, since books and chapters are the most frequently cited. The authors discuss the implications of the findings for the characterization and evaluation of scientific output in Public Health in Brazil.

Collective Health is characteristically a broad and complex field of study, presenting itself as a major challenge for the evaluation process carried out by Capes. The aim of the present work was to provide a panorama of postgraduate education in the field of collective health and to discuss aspects of the criteria adopted for its evaluation. The evaluation of postgraduate programs is carried out on a yearly basis. For this, program structure, its academic staff and students, research and teaching activities, theses and dissertations, and intellectual production are taken into account. The evaluation of the latter has been subject of criticism for favoring the publication of papers and for basing ranking of production on journal indexing and impact factors. Despite criticisms and reservations towards the evaluation process, the analysis of the Brazilian scientific production, in general and in the case of Collective Health, shows a very positive scenario, with an important increase in the number of postgraduate courses, teachers, and students. Thus, the panorama of postgraduate programs is favorable, but continuously rethinking and perfecting the evaluation process is essential to guarantee its contribution to the growth and strengthening of the system.

Objective: To recognize the characteristics and path taken by the through analysis of the scientific production it has published over the period from 1967 to 2005., Methods: Scientometric methods were used to analyze reference data on the articles published in the Revista, retrieved from the databases ISI/Thomson Scientific (Web of Science), National Library of Medicine (PubMed) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO)., Results: The Revista is the only Brazilian publication in the field of public health that is indexed by ISI/Thomson Scientific. It is prominent as a medium for publishing Brazilian scientific production in public health and is displaying a geometric increase in publication and citation, with annual rates of 4.4% and 12.7%, respectively. The mean number of authors per paper has risen from 2 to 3.5 over recent years. Although original research articles predominate, the numbers of reviews, multicenter studies, clinical trials and validation studies have been increasing. The number of articles published in foreign languages has also increased, accounting for 13% of the total, and the leading countries originating these are the UK, USA, Argentina and Mexico. The number and diversity of journals citing the Journal has been increasing, many of which are non-Brazilian. Authorship per author shows good fit to Lotka's Law, but the parameters suggest greater concentration and less dispersion than would be expected. Among the fields of interest of published papers, the following topics account for more than 50% of the total volume: infectious-parasitic diseases and vectors; health promotion, policies and administration; and epidemiology, surveillance and disease control., Conclusions: The Revista shows great dynamism, without signs of abating or reaching a plateau any time soon. There are signs of progressively increasing complexity in the studies published, and more multidisciplinary work. The Revista seems to be widening its outreach and recognition, while remaining faithful to the field of public health in Brazil.

The purpose of this paper was to demonstrate an application of geostatistical methods to public health risk maps through the identification of areas with elevated concentrations of heavy metals. The study focused on the element lead (Pb) from aerial transportation or loading of particles due to soil leaching in an area with major urban and industrial concentration in the Baixada Santista on the coastland of São Paulo State, Brazil. Maps with the spatial distribution of lead were produced using ordinary kriging; subsequently indicative kriging was performed to identify soil sites with contamination levels higher than the maximum acceptable level defined by the Sao Paulo State Environmental Control Agency. The resulting maps showed areas with increased probability of public health risk. The methodology proved to be a promising approach for decision-making related to health public policies and environmental planning.

This paper analyzes the current status of address data in the Brazilian Health Information System (SIS), with a view towards mapping large-city health events in geographic information systems (GIS) for risk analysis and evaluation. It is thus necessary to geocode these events to small geographic areas inside city limits. This study used a sample from the Reportable Health Events Information System (SINAN) database and also proposes alternatives to work with this large amount of events. Approximately 50% of addresses were referenced automatically and another 19% through conventional search. Data losses occurred mainly due to incomplete or inconsistent address data.

Objectives. This paper measured the extent to which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has spread among the male working-class population of Santos, Brazil. Methods. Questionnaires on risk behaviors and blood tests were administered to a random sample (n = 395) of male port workers employed by the Santos Port Authority. Results. Although the rate of HIV infection among these men--the working-class male population of Santos--remains low (1.1%), self-reported behavioral risks for HIV infection are common. Conclusions. There is still time to prevent a widespread outbreak of HIV infection among the heterosexual population of Santos and of the transportation corridors emanating from that city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author talks about challenge of health inequality in Brazil and progress made in the same field. Topics discussed include a paper showing non-communicable diseases as more common in people of lower social position, implementation of the Brazilian Unified Health System that has eliminated inequalities and need of development of systems to monitor health inequalities and social determinants.

Copyright of RAP: Revista Brasileira de Administração Pública is the property of RAP: Revista Brasileira de Administracao Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cadernos EBAPE.BR is the property of Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Escola Brasileira de Administracao Publica e de Empresas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the fields of public health and entomology, the turn of the 20th century was marked by an emphasis on insects as transmitters of disease. Physicians, bacteriologists and zoologists perseverently tried to understand the etiology of diseases like malaria and yellow fever and make an inventory of the species of insects associated with disease, studying their scientific and biological classification and establishing procedures to control epidemics. The Swiss zoologist Emílio Goeldi (1859-1917), who was then director of the Museum of Natural History and Ethnography of Pará, in Belém, was an active participant in this scientific network and wrote a number of papers on mosquitos in the Amazon. His ideas and contributions to zoology and medical entomology are the focus of this paper.

The authors reconstruct Bertha Lutz's efforts to preserve the memory of her father, Adolpho, after his death on 6 October 1940, by studying the papers of both father and daughter that are held in the Archives of the National Museum. Bertha Lutz's plans included the construction of a museum for Adolpho Lutz's collections, the publication of his complete works and a biography. A pioneer in the feminist movement and researcher at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, Bertha was always a faithful assistant to her father and her own professional life followed a line of research opened by him. For more than 30 years, she dedicated herself to the consecration of her father's name, lobbying politicians and scientists in Brazil and abroad. She was not as successful as she had hoped and Bertha Lutz recorded in her will her wish that the works and biography of Adolpho Lutz be published by future generations.

Background: Brazil has reduced its smoking rate by about 50% in the last 20 y. During that time period, strong tobacco control policies were implemented. This paper estimates the effect of these stricter policies on smoking prevalence and associated premature mortality, and the effect that additional policies may have. Methods and Findings: The model was developed using the SimSmoke tobacco control policy model. Using policy, population, and smoking data for Brazil, the model assesses the effect on premature deaths of cigarette taxes, smoke-free air laws, mass media campaigns, marketing restrictions, packaging requirements, cessation treatment programs, and youth access restrictions. We estimate the effect of past policies relative to a counterfactual of policies kept to 1989 levels, and the effect of stricter future policies. Male and female smoking prevalence in Brazil have fallen by about half since 1989, which represents a 46% (lower and upper bounds: 28%-66%) relative reduction compared to the 2010 prevalence under the counterfactual scenario of policies held to 1989 levels. Almost half of that 46% reduction is explained by price increases, 14% by smoke-free air laws, 14% by marketing restrictions, 8% by health warnings, 6% by mass media campaigns, and 10% by cessation treatment programs. As a result of the past policies, a total of almost 420,000 (260,000-715,000) deaths had been averted by 2010, increasing to almost 7 million (4.5 million-10.3 million) deaths projected by 2050. Comparing future implementation of a set of stricter policies to a scenario with 2010 policies held constant, smoking prevalence by 2050 could be reduced by another 39% (29%-54%), and 1.3 million (0.9 million-2.0 million) out of 9 million future premature deaths could be averted. Conclusions: Brazil provides one of the outstanding public health success stories in reducing deaths due to smoking, and serves as a model for other low and middle income nations. However, a set of stricter policies could further reduce smoking and save many additional lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the impact of globalization on public health practice. Neoliberal supremacy has resulted in both greater interdependence between countries and increasing inequalities. Globalization of health risks and the dependence of local health conditions on external forces precludes the use of local/national solutions for global problems. In this context, the classical organization of public health services in a hierarchical pyramid based on geographically defined areas (from the local to the regional and national levels) no longer makes sense. We thus suggest some characteristics of a different type of organization based on new information technologies: a transnational network, horizontally shaped, more independent from political power, allowing for exchange of information and good practices, promoting dissemination of knowledge and producing "glocal" solutions. Through the creation of work opportunities between health professionals, the model will permit the creation of common strategies and increase the power of their political demands, perhaps allowing for the collective development of a more equitable world.

Copyright of Pesquisa Brasileira em Odontopediatria e Clinica Integrada is the property of Pesquisa Brasileira em Odontopediatria e Clinica Integrada Journal (Brazil) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Saúde e Sociedade is the property of Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Saude Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Varia História is the property of Varia Historia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: As a starting point, a vast variety of 200 technical papers and documents published during the ten years 1999-2008, from Brazilian and international organizations dedicated to the control of leprosy, was taken. A study was then undertaken to investigate its future evolutive possibilities by employing resources obtained from scenario analyses. Design: The methodological reconstruction in use was of a qualitative nature, based on a bibliographic review and content analysis techniques. The latter were employed in a documental, categorical, contingent, frequency-based format, in compliance with appropriate and pertinent conditions. Results: Nowadays, important elements on epidemiological and operational aspects have been regained, as well as respective perspectives. Conclusions: A projection is made towards the fact that the maintenance of the disease's present incidence levels constitute economic and sanitary challenges that confront issues ranging from the neoliberal model of global societal organization to specific competences of actions taken by health teams in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archives of Veterinary Science is the property of Archives of Veterinary Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The Brazilian health system is founded on the principle of equity, meaning provision of equal care for equal needs. However, little is known about the impact of health policies in narrowing socioeconomic health inequalities. Using data from the Brazilian World Health Survey, this paper addresses socioeconomic inequalities in the use of outpatient services according to intensity of need. Methods: A three-stage cluster sampling was used to select 5000 adults (18 years and over). The non-response rate was 24.7% and calibration of the natural expansion factors was necessary to obtain the demographic structure of the Brazilian population. Utilization was established by use of outpatient services in the 12 months prior to the interview. Socioeconomic inequalities were analyzed by logistic regression models using years of schooling and private health insurance as independent variables, and controlling by age and sex. Effects of the socioeconomic variables on health services utilization were further analyzed according to self-rated health (good, fair and poor), considered as an indicator of intensity of health care need. Results: Among the 5000 respondents, 63.4% used an outpatient service in the year preceding the survey. The association of health services utilization and self-rated health was significant (p < 0.001). Regarding socioeconomic inequalities, the less educated used health services less frequently, despite presenting worse health conditions. Highly significant effects were found for both socioeconomic variables, years of schooling (p < 0.001) and private health insurance (p < 0.00), after controlling for age and sex. Stratifying by self-rated health, the effects of both socioeconomic variables were significant among those with good health status, but not statistically significant among those with poor self-rated health. Conclusions: The analysis showed that the social gradient in outpatient services utilization decreases as the need is more intense. Among individuals with good self-rated health, possible explanations for the inequality are the lower use of preventive services and unequal supply of health services among the socially disadvantaged groups, or excessive use of health services by the wealthy. On the other hand, our results indicate an adequate performance of the Brazilian health system in narrowing socioeconomic inequalities in health in the most serious situations of need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global public health problem. Long-distance truck drivers live apart from their family for long periods of time, a lifestyle that favors at-risk behaviors such as unprotected sex with multiple partners and illicit drug use. As data concerning HCV infection in this population are still rare, this paper aims to investigate the prevalence, genotypes/subtypes, and the factors associated with HCV infection in long-distance truck drivers in Brazil. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 641 Brazilian long-truck drivers who were recruited at a major truck stop located at kilometer 1,296 of the BR-153 highway, which is considered to be one of the longest roads in Brazil. All individuals were interviewed, and their serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) by ELISA and immunoblot. Anti-HCV positive samples were tested for HCV RNA by PCR amplification of the 5' NC and NS5B regions and were genotyped using the LiPA assay and nucleotide sequencing, respectively. Factors associated with HCV infection were identified with logistic regression. The prevalence of HCV infection was 1.4% (95% CI: 0.7-2.8). History of blood transfusion, sharing of personal hygiene tools, illicit drug use and HBV status were factors independently associated with HCV infection in the study population. HCV RNA was detected in 8/9 anti-HCV positive samples, in which genotypes 1 (n = 3), 2 (n = 2), and 3 (n = 3) were determined by LiPA. Using phylogenetic tree analysis of the NS5B region, subtypes 1a (n = 1), 1b (n = 2), 2b (n = 2) and 3a (n = 3) were identified. These data show that the prevalence of HCV infection among Brazilian truck drivers was similar to that observed for the general population. History of blood transfusion, sharing of personal hygiene tools, illicit drug use and HBV status were predictors of HCV infection. The HCV genotypes/subtypes identified in the study population are consistent with those circulating in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]