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Populational ageing is a current phenomenon and calls for the reconfiguration of health services and expansion of access for the elderly. This is a cross-sectional study with 6,624 elderly Brazilians over 60 that set out to evaluate access to healthcare by measuring lack of access and by describing the trajectory until recourse to hospitalization, emergency care and medical visits. The variables were analyzed according to the nature of funding to access the service (SUS, private insurance and cash-payment). The prevalence of lack of access was 2.5% (CI95% 1.6;4.0) for hospitalizations, 2.1% (CI95% 1.4; 3.1) for emergency rooms, and 0.6% (CI95% 0.3;0.9) for medical visits. SUS accounted for most of the care provided. Positive aspects of SUS were the higher number of medical visits in the city of residence and less money spent on transport. The private system stands out for the low frequency of long waiting times and higher frequency of referrals to return visits after hospitalization. The findings highlight the importance of SUS in Brazil in promoting equality and universality despite the existing deficiencies. In both public and private systems, greater articulation among the healthcare levels is required for integral healthcare to elderly individuals.

Objective: to evaluate the implementation of schistosomiasis mansoni control actions under the Program to Combat Neglected Diseases in three municipalities in Pernambuco state, Brazil., Methods: implementation analysis was done in 2014, considering the following components - management, epidemiological surveillance, patient care, laboratorial support and health education -; direct observation and interviews were carried out with managers and technical personnel at the state, regional, and municipal levels., Results: partial implementation was found in municipalities A and B 69.7%; 62.2%, while there was full implementation in municipality C 79.5%; contextual weaknesses were found in communication between management levels, insufficient technical-management autonomy of decentralized levels, and professional staff job instability; potentialities identified were - continuing education, political articulation, knowledge about the program, and performance evaluation., Conclusion: contextual categories related to development and implementation stood out for their positive influence on the degree of implementation in the municipalities; we recommend intervention in the weaknesses found, in order to ensure program sustainability and institutionalization.

This article sought to measure lack of access and use of oral health services by elderly residents of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional population study carried out in 2014, in the city's urban zone, including individuals aged 60 years or more. Sociodemographic and self-reported needs variables were associated with outcomes. We used Poisson regression for the crude and adjusted analyses. We interviewed 1,451 elderly individuals using a structured questionnaire. The prevalence of lack of access in the previous year was of 1.8% (95%CI: 0.7-3.0). Elderly individuals who never had a consultation were 3.1% (95%CI: 2.2-4.0) and the prevalence of use of oral health services in the previous years was 38.3%(95%CI 36.0-41.0). Use in the previous year was positively associated with the following variables: younger age (PR = 1.16), having a partner (PR = 1.28), high educational level (PR = 1.31), mouth or teeth problems (PR = 1.93), need for dental prosthesis (PR = 1.36) and being edentulous (PR = 3.11). Lack of access in the previous year was low. Oral health service use was higher than that observed in other states. Findings seem to reflect the expansion of oral health services in the city, especially in the public network, and are useful for health policy planning.

Objective: to analyze variation in craving levels according to individual and behavioral characteristics of crack cocaine users at two public treatment services in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil., Methods: this was a cross sectional study with a sample of 133 participants; the Cocaine Craving Questionnaire scale was used to verify craving levels., Results: 86% of interviewees had moderate and severe craving levels; regarding individual factors, a higher level of severe craving was found in women (45%), those with brown skin color/"mestizos" (60%), low schooling (46%) and minor psychiatric disorders (59%); regarding behavioral factors, the level of severe craving was higher in users who divorced the last year (44%), those who had problems with the Law (61%), those who practiced violence acts (57%), those using more than four psychoactive substances (67%), and those with heavy crack consumption (57%)., Conclusion: almost all crack users were found to have high craving levels; these were proportionally higher in some individual and behavioral variables.

Objective: To evaluate the occurrence and factors associated with multimorbidity among Brazilians aged 50 years and over., Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in a nation-based cohort of the non-institutionalized population in Brazil. Data were collected between 2015 and 2016. Multimorbidity was assessed from a list of 19 morbidities, which were categorized into ≥ 2 and ≥ 3 diseases. The analysis included the calculation of frequencies and the most frequent 10 pairs and triplets of combinations of diseases. The crude and adjusted analyses evaluated the demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and contextual variables (area of residence, geopolitical region, and coverage of the Family Health Strategy) using Poisson regression., Results: From the total of 9,412 individuals, 67.8% (95%CI 65.6-69.9) and 47.1% (95%CI 44.8-49.4) showed ≥ 2 and ≥ 3 diseases, respectively. In the adjusted analysis, women, older persons, and those who did not consume alcohol had increased multimorbidity. There were no associations with race, area of residence, geopolitical region, and coverage of the Family Health Strategy. The 10 pairs (frequencies observed between 11.6% and 23.2%) and the 10 triplets (frequencies observed between 4.9% and 9.5%) of the most frequent diseases mostly included back problems (15 times) and systemic arterial hypertension (11 times). All combinations were statistically higher than expected by chance., Conclusions: The occurrence of multimorbidity was high even among younger individuals (50 to 59 years). Approximately two in three (≥ 2 diseases) and one in two (≥ 3 diseases) individuals aged 50 years and over presented multimorbidity, which represents 26 and 18 million persons in Brazil, respectively. We observed high frequencies of combinations of morbidities.

Objective: to analyze the Family Health Strategy (FHS) coverage time trend in Brazil, its Regions and Federative Units (FUs) in 2006-2016., Methods: this was an ecological study with time series analysis of Ministry of Health Primary Care Department data; Prais-Winsten regression was used., Results: FHS coverage in Brazil in 2006 and 2016 was 45.3% and 64.0%, respectively, with an increasing trend of coverage (annual variation = 8.4%: 95%CI 7.4;9.3); all five regions showed an increasing trend in coverage, as did the majority of FUs, with the exception of Roraima, Amapá, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba, which showed stability; in 2016, 14 FUs had coverage of between 75 and 100%, and 11 had coverage of between 50 and 74,9%; coverage in São Paulo and Federal District was below 50%., Conclusion: although, overall, FHS coverage increased, 13 FUs presented coverages below 75% in 2016; therefore, more efforts are needed to universalize coverage.

Objetivo: to investigate the provision of health education and promotion actions in primary care, and their association with demographic characteristics and Family Health Strategy (FHS) coverage in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil., Methods: this is a cross-sectional study conducted with 816 teams that adhered to the 2012 Primary Care Access and Quality Improvement Program., Results: the most frequent actions were directed towards people with diabetes (91.2%), hypertension (90.8%) as well as antenatal and postnatal care (84.6%). The least frequent were directed to wards crack, alcohol and other drug users (32.4%), anxiolytic/benzodiazepine users (20.3%), people with tuberculosis (31.4%) and leprosy (21.0%). The greatest provision of health promotion and education actions occurred in smaller municipalities and with greater Family Health coverage., Conclusion: actions aimed at the reproductive period and chronic morbidities were the focus of primary care. FHS implementation strengthens health promotion.

The objective was to assess the prevalence of maternal breastfeeding and associated factors in Brazilian children under two years of age. This was a cross-sectional nationwide study in 2013. The outcomes were breastfeeding in children under 24 months and exclusive breastfeeding under six months of age. A hierarchical analysis was performed for associated factors. The analyses were stratified by age (0-5 months and 29 days; 6-11 months and 29 days; 12-23 months and 29 days of age). Prevalence of maternal breastfeeding was 56% for the total sample, and as follows according to age: 80% (0-5 months and 29 days), 62.3% (6-11 months and 29 days), and 40.1% (12-23 months and 29 days). In the adjusted analyses, in all the age brackets, higher prevalence of breastfeeding was associated with consumption of fewer milk products. In children from 6 months to 11 months and 29 days, living in the North of Brazil, black skin color, and the lowest quintile of household assets were associated with higher breastfeeding prevalence. In children from 12 months to 23 months and 29 days of age, higher breastfeeding prevalence was associated with black skin color, consumption of healthy liquids and foods, living in urban areas, head-of-household's higher educational level, and more household assets. Overall prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was 20.6% and was higher in the South, in families with head-of-household's higher educational level, and more household assets. The prevalence rates for breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding of Brazilian children under two years can be considered low. Existing policies to increase the prevalence rates of maternal breastfeeding at any age should be reinforced.

This study aimed to assess the attention paid by health professionals to elderly individuals with hypertension and related inequalities in Brazil, using level of schooling as the socioeconomic indicator. This was a cross-sectional study with data from the Brazilian National Health Survey, 2013. Attention was assessed according to the following indicators: recommendations for healthy eating, maintaining adequate weight, less salt, regular exercise, prevention of smoking and excessive drinking, and regular medical checkups with blood and urine tests, ECG, and stress test. The recommendations to consume less salt (91%), healthy diet (88%), and regular medical checkups (88%) were the most common. Elderly with complete university degrees showed the highest prevalence rates for recommendations to maintain a healthy diet (PR = 1.12), adequate weight (PR = 1.21), regular exercise (PR = 1.29), regular medical checkups (PR = 1.11), and stress test (PR = 2.26) and all the indicators combined (PR = 2.14) when compared to elderly without schooling. The attention paid to the elderly by health professionals is suboptimal throughout the country. In addition, inequalities in attention to the elderly's needs still persist. Given the growth in the elderly population and chronic non-communicable diseases, efforts are needed to improve the quality of their care and mitigate the related inequalities.

Objective: to analyze the simultaneity of two groups of risk behaviors for sexually transmitted infections in Brazilian adolescents., Methods: cross-sectional study with data from the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey 2012; the outcomes were (1) simultaneous consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs (at least two), and (2) no use of condom and having two or more sexual partners., Results: simultaneity of consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs was present in 14.7% of the boys and 21.5% of the girls, and was more prevalent among white individuals, with more educated mothers, and who did not live with their parents; approximately 12.0% of the adolescents presented simultaneity of no use of condom and having two or more sexual partners; this was more common among younger boys, not white (PR=1.22; 95%CI 1.10;1.36), and who did not live with their parents (PR=1.78; 95%CI 1.48;2.16), whilst among girls, this outcome was associated with higher age., Conclusion: both outcomes were associated with different characteristics, depending on the sex of the adolescent.

The aim of this study was to describe quality indicators for prenatal care in Brazil as part of the Program for the Improvement of Access and Quality (PMAQ-AB). The study analyzed number of prenatal visits, vaccination status, prescription of ferrous sulfate, physical examination, orientation, and laboratory tests, based on which a summary quality indicator was constructed. Data were collected in 2012-2013 during interviews conducted by External Evaluators of the PMAQ-AB, with 6,125 users who had done their last prenatal follow-up in Family Health units. During prenatal follow-up, 89% reported six or more visits, more than 95% received a tetanus booster and prescription of ferrous sulfate, 24% reported having received all the procedures in the physical examination, 60% received all the orientation, and 69% had all the recommended laboratory tests. Only 15% of interviewees had received adequate prenatal care, including all the recommended measures, and there was a significantly higher proportion of "complete" care in pregnant women that were older, with higher income, in the Southeast region of Brazil, in municipalities with more than 300,000 inhabitants, and in those with (HDI) in the upper quartile. There are persist social and individual inequalities that can be targeted by measures to upgrade the teams' work processes.

Objective: to estimate the prevalence of functional disability in basic and instrumental daily activities and associated factors in elderly who live in the urban area of Bagé-RS, Brazil., Methods: this is a population-based cross-sectional study, conducted in 2008; functional disability was defined by basic and instrumental daily activities, using Katz index and Lawton and Brody scale; Poisson regression was used for crude and adjusted analyses., Results: 1,593 elderly individuals were investigated; the prevalence of disability for basic activities was of 10.6% (95%CI: 9.1;12.1) and of 34.2% (95%CI: 31.9;36.6) for instrumental activities; both disabilities were statistically associated to the increment of age, low education level, alcohol consumption, history of cerebrovascular diseases, cognitive impairment, hospitalization and home care., Conclusion: a high proportion of elderly presented functional disability; the outcomes were associated to the following variables: demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, health status and use of health services.

Objective: to analyze the time trend on the demand and lack of access to public health services in Brazil., Methods: this is a panel of cross-sectional studies with data of the National Household Sample Survey (1998, 2003, 2008) and the National Health Survey (2013); the prevalence of demand and lack of access within the fifteen days prior to the survey was estimated; Poisson regression was used for trend analysis., Results: the demand for health services increased from 13.0% (95%CI 12.3;13.7), in 1998, to 15.0% (95%CI 14.5;15.4), in 2013; the lack of access remained stable, being of 3.7% (95%CI 3.2;4.2) in 1998 and 4.5% (95%CI 4.0;5.0) in 2013., Conclusions: the increase in demand for health services and the stability in the lack of access indicate improvements in the Brazilian public health system performance; additional efforts are required to ensure universal access to public health services in Brazil.

Objective: to analyze dengue incidence trend in Brazil from 2002 to 2012., Methods: this was an ecological study with data of the Information System for Notifiable Diseases (Sinan); the incidence rate was calculated by age groups, states and macroregions, through Prais-Winsten regression., Results: dengue incidence rates in Brazil, in 2002 and 2012, were of 401.6 and 301.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively; annual increment rates were stable (21.4%; 95%CI -19.8;83.7) in most of the states, except for Alagoas (38.9%; 95%CI 5.1;83.5) and Tocantins (50.4%; 95%CI 12.6;100.7); the North Region was the only region to present increase trend in the incidence of dengue., Conclusion: although rates have remained stable in most of the states, they are still high in Brazil; broader public policies focusing on new dengue control strategies are necessary.

Objective: to perform time-trend analysis of homicide and land transport accident (LTA) mortality in Foz do Iguaçu city, Brazil, 2000-2010., Methods: this was a time series study, using Mortality Information System data on people resident in the city; death rates by sex were calculated and standardized by age; Prais-Winsten regression was used., Results: 3,459 deaths were recorded in the period (881 owing to LTA and 2,578 owing to homicides); the highest homicide mortality rate was 104.6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2006, whilst for LTA it was 35.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010; LTA and homicide mortality rates showed stability; higher mortality rates were found in the 20-39 age group., Conclusion: the maintenance high homicide and LTA mortality rates point to the need to pay greater attention to these problems.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of guidance on healthy habits received from health professionals by elderly and its relation to socioeconomic demographic, behavioral and health indicators, and the type of services., Methods: Cross sectional population based study including individuals aged 60 years or more in the urban area of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Seven guidance on healthy habits were evaluated: weight control, reduction in salt, sugar and fat intake, physical activity practice, not smoking and not drinking alcohol., Results: Among the 1,451 elderly interviewed, 1,281 (88.3%) consulted in the last year. The orientations more refereed were to fat (61.7%) and salt (61.5%) intake reduction and physical activity (58.2%). Elderly who consulted three times or more and in services financed by the Unified Health System received more guidance. Those elderly from the socioeconomic classes A/B were more likely to receive guidance for weight control (RP = 1.27; 95%CI 1.06 - 1.70) and physical activity (RP = 1.34; 95%CI 1.06 - 1.69)., Conclusion: The orientation from health professionals were uncommon and, in some cases, unfocused.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of home care for the Brazilian elderly population and associated factors, using a cross-sectional design with a sample of individuals 60 years or older living in the urban areas of 100 municipalities located in 23 states. A Poisson regression model was used for crude and adjusted analyses. A total of 6,624 elderly individuals were interviewed, and prevalence of home care was 11.7%. After adjustment, higher home care rates were associated with female gender, older old age, lower schooling and purchasing power, diagnosis of chronic illness, history of falls, previous hospitalization, and medical consultation in the previous three months. The results highlight more extensive use of home care by the most vulnerable elderly. This finding suggests a contribution from home care to the promotion of healthcare equity in Brazil, especially due to the expansion of the Family Health Strategy. The results can support the organization of the work process for primary care professionals and managers.

Objective: To identify the prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors in elderly., Methods: Cross-sectional study of population-based sample of 1,593 individuals aged 60 years or more in the urban area of Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in 2008. Data were collected in household interviews. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale. The analysis was performed using Poisson regression with robust variance estimation., Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 18.0%, with the 95% confidence interval 16.1 - 19.9. The majority of the sample consisted of women (62.8%). The mean age was 70 years, with a 8.24 standard deviation (SD); 25.1% of seniors aged 60 to 64 years and 31.2% were 75 years or older. In the adjusted analysis, depressive symptoms were significantly associated (p value < 0.05) with the elderly female, yellow, brown or indigenous descendancy, lower economic status, retired, with history of heart problems, incapacity to basic and instrumental activities of daily living, worse self-rated health and dissatisfaction with life in general. Age, marital status, education, self-reported hypertension and diabetes were not associated with depressive symptoms after adjusting for confounders., Conclusion: The high prevalence of depressive symptoms in the population requires investment in preventive actions, noting the need for practices that promote active aging with the maintenance of functional activity, improving self-rated health and life satisfaction.

Indicators of supply, access, and use of healthcare are helpful for characterizing services, planning activities, and organizing demand. This study describes patterns of use of outpatient care and the associations with demographic and socioeconomic factors, morbidity, population size of the municipality and region, and administrative and financial classification of the provider. This was a population-based cross-sectional study with a sample of 12,402 Brazilian adults from 20 to 59 years of age living in urban areas of 100 municipalities from five regions. Prevalence of outpatient care in the three months prior to the interview was 34.6%. The Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) accounted for more than half (53.6%) of the cases, health insurance was used by 34% of the sample, and out-of-pocket services 12.4%, regardless of region, population size, and morbidity profile. Patterns of use of health services remain socially determined, resulting from the supply, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and health profile of users.

This paper seeks to verify the association between falls and self-assessment of visual acuity in elderly people by means of a cross-sectional population-based study involving 1593 elderly people (aged 60 or over) from the urban zone of the municipality of Bagé-RS. Poisson regression was used for association analysis. Fall prevalence in the last year was 28.0% (95%CI: 25.8; 30.2), with 45.0% of these having suffered two or more falls in the same period. Elderly people self-assessing their eyesight as bad/very poor (10.0%) or regular (33.3%) showed a linear increase in fall occurrence when compared to individuals who considered their eyesight to be good/excellent. Self-assessment of eyesight showed itself to be an important factor associated with the occurrence of falls. This results entails the need to make progress with tracing elderly people with eyesight difficulties and its possible impact on actions to prevent the occurrence of falls., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of the study was to analyze the association between use of health services and obesity in Brazilian adults. We carried out a population-based cross-sectional study in 100 districts of five Brazilian regions. The outcomes were: home care, use of medical services in the primary health care, use of medical services outside of the primary health care, use of emergency services and hospitalization. Excess weight was assessed by measurement of BMI and waist circumference (WC). Among the 8,603 subjects studied, the medical care in the primary health care was 14% and 18% higher among obese and high risk of WC, respectively, after controlled for socio-demographic variables and physical inactivity, but lost significance when adjusted for hypertension and diabetes. For the emergency services, both exposures resulted in increase of nearly 20% in the use of this service, after adjustments. The excess weight increased the use of medical services in the primary health care and emergency services.

This article addresses food insecurity among urban Brazilian families with children under seven years. A cross-sectional study in areas covered by primary health care centers identified 5,419 families in the Northeast and 5,081 in the South of the country. Food insecurity was assessed by the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity was 22.9% in the Northeast and 7.5% in the South. According to the adjusted analysis, increased likelihood of moderate or severe food insecurity was associated with families headed by women, black or brown maternal skin color, low maternal education, low family income, and enrollment in the Bolsa Família program (conditional income transfer). Moderate or severe food insecurity would be reduced by 59.5% in the Northeast and 45.4% in the South with a per capita income of at least BRL 175.00 per month. Increased family income for the poorest families and better targeting of Bolsa Família are essential for reducing food insecurity in the country.

It is estimated that until 2020 the elderly will represent 13% of the total Brazilian population, and there is increasing concern about healthy aging and low rates of cognitive impairment. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the prevalence of cognitive impairment, using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in a sample of 1,593 elderly aged 60 years old and more who were living in the community of the city of Bagé, Southern Brazil, in 2008. The Poisson regression model was used for estimating crude and adjusted prevalence ratios; their related 95% confidence intervals and p-values lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The prevalence of cognitive impairment was of 34% and statistically associated with gender (female), age (older), schooling (less educated), lower economic classes, without retirement, with depression and functional limitation. The high magnitude with increased occurrence among poor and vulnerable groups contributes to the implementation of public policies in order to improve care, prevent diseases and promote the independence and autonomy of the elderly population.