The lifetime costs of perinatal depression and anxiety in Brazil.

Background: Each year, an estimated 860,000 Brazilian women experience depression and anxiety perinatally. Despite well-known devastating impacts of these conditions on mothers and children, they remain neglected in low- and middle-income countries. Knowing the costs of untreated perinatal depression and anxiety can inform decision-making.

[Survey for Caregivers of People with Autism Spectrum in Chile: Access to Health and Education Services, Satisfaction, Quality of Life And Stigma].

Introduction: People on the Autism Spectrum (AS) face multiple health, education, social, and economic pro blems. There is limited available information in Chile.

Objective: To describe the access and satisfac tion with health and education services, family and economic impact, stigma, and quality of life of people with AS and their families in Chile.

Attention training in children with autism spectrum disorder improves academic performance: A double-blind pilot application of the computerized progressive attentional training program.

Atypical attention has been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with studies pointing to an increase in attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder-like symptomatology. Individuals with ASD may also present academic difficulties and it is possible that they face a double-barrier for academic attainment from both core ASD symptomatology and from attention atypicalities, which are directly linked to academic performance. This raises the possibility that academic difficulties in ASD may benefit from cognitive training targeting attention.

Preliminary evidence of the validity process of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS): translation, cross-cultural adaptation and semantic equivalence of the Brazilian Portuguese version.

Objectives: To translate and back-translate the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) into Brazilian Portuguese, to assess its cross-cultural semantic equivalence, and to verify indicators of quality of the final version by analyzing the inter-rater reliability of the ADOS scores.

Methods: This study had three stages: 1) translation and back-translation; 2) semantic equivalence analysis; and 3) pre-test to verify the agreement between mental health specialists and an ADOS senior examiner regarding the scoring procedure. Authorization to translate and carry out the cultural adaptation of the instrument was first obtained from the Western Psychological Services, publishers of the instrument.

Barriers to early identification of autism in Brazil.

Objective: Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) seem to perceive that their child's development is not following the normal pattern as early as the first year of life. However, ASD children may not receive a diagnosis until they are of preschool age, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pathway between initial parental concerns about atypical child development and ASD diagnosis in Brazil.

Exposure to maltreatment and urban violence in children working on the streets in São Paulo, Brazil: factors associated with street work.

Objective: To quantitatively study the exposure to childhood maltreatment and urban violence in children from families with at least one child working on the streets and to investigate the relationship between these factors and street work.

Methods: Families who participated in a nongovernmental organization (NGO) program to eliminate child labor were included. Data concerning sociodemographic characteristics, punishment methods used in the family environment against the children, five types of abuse and neglect perpetrated by the caregivers, urban violence exposure and family functioning were collected.

Influence of psychosocial risk factors on the trajectory of mental health problems from childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal study.

Background: Longitudinal epidemiological studies involving child/adolescent mental health problems are scarce in developing countries, particularly in regions characterized by adverse living conditions. We examined the influence of psychosocial factors on the trajectory of child/adolescent mental health problems (CAMHP) over time.

Methods: A population-based sample of 6- to 13-year-olds with CAMHP was followed-up from 2002-2003 (Time 1/T1) to 2007-2008 (Time 2/T2), with 86 out of 124 eligible children/adolescents at T1 being reassessed at T2 (sample loss: 30.

[Life-long domestic violence against women: prevalence and immediate impact on health, work, and family].

Objectives: To estimate the lifetime prevalence of domestic violence against women (DVAW) in a low-income urban community and evaluate the immediate impact of DVAW on health, work, and family life.

Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in the city of Embu (state of São Paulo, Brazil) as part of an international multicenter project (World Studies of Abuse in the Family Environment, WorldSAFE). A probabilistic sample of census sector-based clusters including all eligible households identified was used.

[Lifetime prevalence and help seeking behavior in physical marital violence].

Objective: To estimate the lifetime prevalence of physical marital violence among women from a low-income urban community and to investigate help-seeking behavior among victims.

Methods: This is the Brazilian pilot cross-sectional study for an international multicenter study conducted in 1999, and is based on a probabilistic cluster sample from the municipality of Embu, São Paulo State. We considered as eligible women aged 15 to 49 years, living with children under age 18 years, who had lived with a husband or partner in lifetime.

Partner violence as a risk factor for mental health among women from communities in the Philippines, Egypt, Chile, and India.

Although studies have documented the associations between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and mental health, few have been done in developing countries. In this study, the association between IPV and mental health in women from different developing countries was established. Women, 15 to 49 years old with at least one child 18 years old or younger, were randomly selected from communities in Chile, Egypt, India, and the Philippines (N = 3974).

Physical intimate partner violence in Chile, Egypt, India and the Philippines.

Background: Violence against women is recognized by globally as a serious health and social problem that impedes development.

Objectives: To determine the magnitude of physical intimate partner violence against women in six selected communities from Chile, Egypt, India and the Philippines.

Design: Population-based household surveys.

Training and field methods in the WorldSAFE collaboration to study family violence.

Introduction: This paper describes the collaborative efforts of research teams from medical schools in India, Chile, Egypt, the Philippines, Brazil, and the United States to develop and implement a core protocol for household surveys on family violence and to conduct standardized training for field workers. Our objectives are to share successes and difficulties encountered in training and field work and to offer recommendations for similar undertakings.

Methods: Study methods, developed by a multidisciplinary group of international investigators, were documented in a procedures manual.

Coordination of international multicenter studies: governance and administrative structure.

A well-conducted multicenter study needs to assure standardization, uniformity of procedures, high data quality, and collaboration across sites. This manuscript describes the organization and dynamics of multicenter studies, focusing on governance and administrative structures among countries of diverse cultures. The organizational structure of a multicenter study is described, and a system for oversight and coordination, along with roles and responsibilities of participants in the multicenter study, are presented.