Access to high-priced medicines: inequalities in the organization and the results among Brazilian states.

This case study aimed to characterize the Specialized Component of Pharmaceutical Services (CEAF) organization in four Brazilian states from diverse regions of the country. Data were collected with representatives of CEAF management from states in different regions, who answered a 21-question questionnaire on scope, organization, financing, hurdles, and facilitators. This information was complemented with data from national health surveys, DataSUS, the applied resources, and socioeconomic indicators.

[Evaluability study of the Multicenter Program for Professional Qualification in Distance Home Care (PMQPAD)].

With the implementation of home care in the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS), the need to train administrators and health workers led to the creation of the Multicenter Program for Professional Qualification in Distance Home Care (PMQPAD) in a partnership between the SUS Open University and the General Coordinating Division for Home Care, of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Through courses in specialization, improvement, and self-instruction, the program achieved wide capillarity and scope in the country, with nearly 300,000 enrollments across all states of Brazil. The current study aimed to structure a model to assess the PMQPAD through an evaluability study with participation by the program's administrators.

Structure and work process for food and nutrition actions in Primary Health Care in Brazil, 2014.

Objective: To evaluate the conditions of structure and work process for food and nutrition actions in Primary Health Care in Brazil.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with secondary data from the Program for Primary Health Care Access and Quality Improvement. The proportions of Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) and health team adequacy were described according to organizational variables, using prevalence ratios and Poisson regression.

[Financing and management: the technical efficiency in public health expenditures of small-scale municipalities in the state of Santa Catarina].

In a context of budget constraints and fiscal austerity measures, the discussion of issues related to the efficient management of public resources is a major challenge. The scope of this study was to assess the technical efficiency of municipalities of the State of Santa Catarina in public health expenditures and its relationship with health management conditions in the years 2009 and 2015. In order to measure efficiency, the decision was made to use Data Envelopment Analysis.

Feasibility evaluation of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for primary care professionals in Brazilian national health system.

Background And Purpose: In the last decades, an increasing body of scientific studies has shown mindfulness-based interventions as efficacious for reducing stress, including among primary care professionals. Despite the strength of the evidence, mindfulness-based interventions still are not widely adopted as a clinical practice in national health systems. The aim of the present study was to conduct a feasibility evaluation of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for primary care professionals in Brazilian national health system.

Analysis of the supply of specialized oral health care services in the Brazilian National Health System: Brazil, 2014.

Objective: to analyze the availability of public specialized dental care services at Dental Specialties Centers (CEO) in Brazil in 2014.

Methods: secondary data on the CEO ratio and dental surgeon ratio were analyzed by population as well as the adequacy of the quantity of complete dental consulting rooms per CEO type, the adequacy of the ratio between the working hours of dental auxiliaries /technicians and those of dental surgeons and the adequacy of the availability of recommended minimum specialties. Possible statistical differences between macro-regions were verified.

Positive impact of a cooking skills intervention among Brazilian university students: Six months follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the Nutrition and Culinary in the Kitchen (NCK) Program to evaluate the improvement of cooking skills and healthy eating of university students.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial with six months follow-up was used incorporating an intervention group (IG) and a control group (CG). The IG participated in the NCK program over a six-week period, three hours weekly, based on five hands-on cooking classes and one food market visit, while CG continued their usual activities.

Feasibility evaluation of a mindfulness-based intervention for primary care professionals: Proposal of an evaluative model.

A critical issue in the contemporary field of public health is the organizational stress experienced by healthcare professionals. An integrative and complementary therapy that research has shown as efficacious in helping healthcare professionals to cope with stress is mindfulness meditation. An intervention, however, can't merely be efficacious, it also needs to be feasible to be implemented in a specific political and organizational context.

Nutrition and Culinary in the Kitchen Program: a randomized controlled intervention to promote cooking skills and healthy eating in university students - study protocol.

Background: Community-based intervention studies that aim at developing cooking skills have increased in the scientific literature and are related to healthier food practices. However, methodological limitations are observed and only a few studies have university students as the target. The university entrance period has been related to negative changes in eating habits among young people and it represents an important period for developing interventions for health promotion.

Evaluation of the performance of actions and outcomes in primary health care.

Objective: The objective of this study has been to evaluate the performance of the primary care of Brazilian municipalities in relation to health actions and outcomes.

Methods: This is an evaluative, cross-sectional research, with a quantitative approach, aimed at the identification of the efficiency frontier of the primary care in health actions and outcomes in Brazilian municipalities. Secondary data have been collected from the Programa Nacional de Melhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade da Atenção Básica (National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care) and the Department of Informatics of the Brazilian Unified Health System, in 2012.

[Municipalities Stratification for Health Performance Evaluation].

Objective: to propose and present a stratification of Brazilian municipalities into homogeneous groups for evaluation studies of health management performance.

Methods: this was a methodological study, with selected indicators which classify municipalities according to conditions that influence the health management and population size; data for the year 2010 were collected from demographic and health databases; correlation tests and factor analysis were used.

Results: seven strata were identified - Large-sized; Medium-sized with favorable, regular or unfavorable influences; and Small-sized with favorable, regular or unfavorable influences -; there was a concentration of municipalities with favorable influences in strata with better purchasing power and funding, as well as a concentration of municipalities with unfavorable influences in the North and Northeast regions.

[Assessment of municipal management of oral health in primary care: data collection instrument accuracy].

This validation study seeks to check the accuracy of an evaluation model. In an evaluation, it is necessary to validate the precision and reliability of the data collection instrument. In this study, the Management Assessment of Oral Health in Primary Care in Santa Catarina was used as a benchmark to calculate the indicators.

Burden of disease due to cancer in a Southern Brazilian state.

Background: Despite the considerable epidemiological relevance of cancer in developing countries, there are very few studies of the burden related to cancer. The aim of this study was to present and discuss data from a burden-of-cancer study performed in a Southern Brazilian state.

Methods: An epidemiological study of ecological design was performed to calculate the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) index.

The Linear Programming to evaluate the performance of Oral Health in Primary Care.

Objective: To show the use of Linear Programming to evaluate the performance of Oral Health in Primary Care.

Methods: This study used data from 19 municipalities of Santa Catarina city that participated of the state evaluation in 2009 and have more than 50,000 habitants. A total of 40 indicators were evaluated, calculated using the Microsoft Excel 2007, and converted to the interval [0, 1] in ascending order (one indicating the best situation and zero indicating the worst situation).

Availability and price of food products with and without trans fatty acids in food stores around elementary schools in low- and medium-income neighborhoods.

The purpose of this exploratory, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between the price and availability of food products with and without trans fatty acids in food stores near elementary schools located in low- and medium-income neighborhoods of a Brazilian city. The supply of products containing trans fatty acids was higher in both regions, and these products were also cheaper. It is noteworthy that this availability may influence food choices and, consequently, the health status of children and adolescents, since this population is more likely to buy less-healthy foods when these are more available, accessible, and financially attractive.

[An evaluation model for oral health in primary care].

This paper presents a model for assessing the quality of primary dental care and tests its applicability in municipalities in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The model features two components: Management of Oral Health and Provision of Primary Oral Health Care. The first consists of the sub-components Inter-Sector Practice, Community Participation, Human Resources, and Infrastructure.

The prosthetic need WHO index: a comparison between self-perception and professional assessment in an elderly population.

The purpose of this study was to consider the criteria for establishing the need for prosthesis, by comparing the need perceived subjectively by a patient (self-perception) with that assessed by an examiner according to the WHO diagnosis criteria. The proposed domiciliary sample comprised 270 elderly (aged 60 years or older) residents in a municipality in southern Brazil. The interviews and oral examinations were conducted by two dentists following a period of training and calibration.

Edentulousness and associated risk factors in a south Brazilian elderly population.

Aim: To examine the relationship between edentulousness and the socioeconomic and behavioural variables collected in a cross-sectional study of an elderly population.

Methods: The study was conducted on 277 elderly (60 years or older) in the municipality of Biguaçu, Southern Brazil. The oral examinations and questionnaires were conducted by two calibrated dentists.

[Epidemiological aspects of oral health among the elderly in Brazil].

All indexed articles in BBO, LILACS, and MEDLINE databases from January 1998 to July 2001 were searched to analyze information on oral health among the elderly in Brazil. The year 1998 was used as a starting point, since this was the year the National Epidemiological Survey was published. Twenty-nine articles were found, of which 7 were analyzed in detail regarding key methodological aspects (age, sampling, data presentation) and the results were presented (DMFT index, proportion of missing teeth, edentulousness rate, and use and need of dental prostheses).