[Reducing the inequalities experienced by an indigenous community in Brazil: The social role of the university].

The objective of this article is to describe and analyse the actions developed by a health promotion programme between 2013 and 2014 in an indigenous Kiriri community in Bahia, Brazil. One of the specificities of the programme was that it was conducted in the context of the extension activities of Brazilian universities. This programme illustrates the actions of extension, a longstanding social function of Brazilian universities and the value of involving the university in community health actions.

[Nosocomial infection control in France: a socio-historical approach].

This article argues that the emergence of nosocomial infections as a public health issue is the result of specific socio-cultural processes. An analysis of the French periodical Revue d'Hygiène et de Médecine Sociale over the period 1953-1988 and of the discourse of national actors in the fight against hospital-acquired infections demonstrates that the recognition of nosocomial infections as a public health issue occurred almost independently of objective criteria related to frequency or severity. It is suggested that professional and societal factors provide a better explanation of the emergence of nosocomial infections as a public health issue.