Psychoactive substance consumption after the Fundão dam mine tailing disaster in Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

Disasters cause changes in morbidity, mortality, and medicine use. Brazil is one of the main producers of mineral ores at great environmental cost. Mine tailings are stored in dams and ruptures have led to major disasters.

Profile, performance, and perception of pharmacist preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The lack of human resources for disease prevention and control is evident in times of health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In public health emergencies, the capacity for adequate assistance and guaranteed access to pharmacological treatment are fundamental and contribute to impact reduction. We aimed to analyze the profile, performance, and characteristics related to the self-perception of preparedness among pharmacists who responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

Consumption of drugs for Alzheimer's disease on the Brazilian private market.

Objective: To analyze the consumption of drugs for Alzheimer's disease on the Brazilian private market and its geographical distribution from 2014 to 2020.

Methods: National data from the Brazilian National System of Controlled Product Management were used, regarding sales of donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine, and memantine from January 2014 to December 2020. Sales data were used as a proxy for drug consumption and expressed as defined daily dose/1,000 inhabitants/year at national, regional, federative unit and microregion levels.

Mental Health Services Utilization by the Population That Suffered Water Supply Interruption Following Mariana Dam Failure (Brazil).

Objective: Disasters may have major impacts to mental health and to the utilization of mental health services (MHS). Moreover, these effects may be worsened by the preclusion of access to basic services following the event. The aim of this study is to evaluate the utilization of public MHS by the population that suffered water supply interruption following the Mariana Dam Failure in Brazil, 2015.

Demographics, Socioeconomic Status, Social Distancing, Psychosocial Factors and Psychological Well-Being among Undergraduate Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on academic routine because of the social distancing measures. This study examined the relationships of sociodemographic characteristics, social distancing aspects and psychosocial factors on psychosocial well-being among undergraduate students during the social distancing period due to COVID-19. A web-based survey was conducted of undergraduate students at a public university in Brazil ( = 620).

The role of primary care pharmacists in the response to the Zika epidemic.

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection emerged in Brazil in 2015, leading to the declaration of a national public health emergency, mainly due to its consequences for pregnant women and newborn babies. The Zika epidemic demanded major efforts from the public health system to address the full range of disease consequences.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the role of Primary Health Care pharmacists working in the city of Campo Grande in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul.

An ontology of Pharmaceutical Services in the pages of Journal Ciência & Saúde Coletiva.

Pharmaceutical Services (PS) is a growing field which has established itself over the last 25 years in Brazil through scientific publications. This work investigates the evolution of the field in the Brazilian periodical Journal Ciência & Saúde Coletiva. We conducted a scoping review of relevant literature produced in four separate periods (1996-2003, 2004-2010, 2011-2015, and 2016-2019).

Preparedness of Pharmaceutical Services in Military Organizations: Learning from an Assessment in Brazil.

Introduction: The participation of armed forces in humanitarian operations and in disaster response is common in many countries. In Brazil, the armed forces have had history in providing health support to victims in emergencies, which also includes the provision of pharmaceutical services (PS).

Problem: Even though being essential for the provision of health care in disaster response, the preparedness of PS is not well-addressed in the literature.

Skills and Core Competencies of Pharmacists in Humanitarian Assistance.

Background: Pharmacists' participation in health care within multi-disciplinary teams in Humanitarian Assistance (HA) shall be encouraged. Limited literature exists on their role in the humanitarian context. The objective of this paper is to evidence the skill-specific, comprehensive core competencies that pharmacists must demonstrate working in humanitarian interventions.

Sustainability of ARV provision in developing countries: challenging a framework based on program history.

The provision of ARVs is central to HIV/AIDS programs, because of its impact on the course of the disease and on quality of life. Although first-line treatments costs have declined, treatment-associated expenses are steeper each year. Sustainability is therefore an important variable for the success of treatment programs.

Expected hazards and hospital beds in host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Planning for mass gatherings involves health system preparedness based on an understanding of natural and technological hazards identified through prior risk assessment. We present the expected hazards reported by health administrators of the host cities for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and discuss the hazards considering minimal available public hospital beds in the 12 cities at the time of the event. Four different groups of respondents were interviewed: pharmaceutical service administrators and overall health administrators at both the municipal and hospital levels.

Preparedness for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games: hospital treatment capacity in georeferenced areas.

Recently, Brazil has hosted mass events with recognized international relevance. The 2014 FIFA World Cup was held in 12 Brazilian state capitals and health sector preparedness drew on the history of other World Cups and Brazil's own experience with the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. The current article aims to analyze the treatment capacity of hospital facilities in georeferenced areas for sports events in the 2016 Olympic Games in the city of Rio de Janeiro, based on a model built drawing on references from the literature.

Magistral drugs in hospitalized newborns and children.

Objective: Study the use of magistral oral solutions and suspensions in infants and children at a university hospital.

Methods: This is a descriptive study based on the analysis of the assessed hospital's magistral drug request forms regarding the patients in the neonatal ICU, Obstetrics, Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency from January 2012 to December 2013. The frequency of drug requests and dispensation was evaluated and the consumption of each active ingredient of the preparations was expressed as number of "infant defined daily dose" (iDDD) and of iDDD/100 bed-days.

Dispensing and determinants of non-adherence to treatment for non complicated malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum in high-risk municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon.

Background: In Brazil, 99.7 % of malaria cases occur in the Amazon region. Although the number of cases is decreasing, the country accounted for almost 60 % of cases in the Americas Region, in 2013.

[Preparedness of pharmaceutical assistance for disasters: a study in five Brazilian municipalities].

A number of Brazilian municipalities have been affected by disasters in recent years. Municipal managers need to invest in preparedness to mitigate the impact of events and to restrict damages. Disaster preparedness should be conducted on various fronts, including the health sector, of which pharmaceutical services (PS) are a part.

Tissue distribution of residual antimony in rats treated with multiple doses of meglumine antimoniate.

Meglumine antimoniate (MA) and sodium stibogluconate are pentavalent antimony (SbV) drugs used since the mid-1940s. Notwithstanding the fact that they are first-choice drugs for the treatment of leishmaniases, there are gaps in our knowledge of their toxicological profile, mode of action and kinetics. Little is known about the distribution of antimony in tissues after SbV administration.

Hospital preparedness in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Introduction: Regardless of the capacity of the health care system of the host nation, mass gatherings require special planning and preparedness efforts within the health system. Brazil will host the 2014 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. This paper represents the first results from Project "Prepara Brasil," which is investigating the preparedness of the health sector and pharmaceutical services for these events.

A methodological approach for the evaluation of preparedness of pharmaceutical services.

Objective: The aim of this article is to provide an outcome evaluation model for preparedness of pharmaceutical services (PS) in disaster situations.

Methods: A five-step evaluation model development was conducted. The first step was a search of disaster preparedness and PS literature.

Prescriptions for uncomplicated malaria treatment among pregnant women in the Brazilian Amazon: evidences from the Mafalda Project.

Aim: To evaluate antimalarial prescriptions according to quality indicators and to describe adverse events reports among pregnant women with uncomplicated malaria.

Methods: Descriptive study of medical files of pregnant women 15 years and older, residents in high-risk municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. Antimalarial medicines were characterized by frequency of prescription, type of plasmodium and health care facilities where prescribing took place, and by possible adverse events.

Uncomplicated malaria among pregnant women in the Brazilian Amazon: local barriers to prompt and effective case management.

Malaria in pregnancy is associated with increased risks of maternal anemia, spontaneous abortion, low birth weight, premature delivery and other adverse effects on health. In Brazil, disease transmission is highly concentrated in the multi-state region that constitutes the Brazilian Amazon (more than 99% of all cases). This study, conducted between the first bimesters of 2007 and 2008, aims to identify the local barriers to prompt and effective case management of malaria in pregnancy and was carried out in health facilities located in three endemic municipalities of the Brazilian Amazon (Manaus, Presidente Figueiredo and Porto Velho).

Pharmaceutical services for endemic situations in the Brazilian Amazon: organization of services and prescribing practices for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum non-complicated malaria in high-risk municipalities.

Background: In spite of the fact that pharmaceutical services are an essential component of all malaria programmes, quality of these services has been little explored in the literature. This study presents the first results of the application of an evaluation model of pharmaceutical services in high-risk municipalities of the Amazon region, focusing on indicators regarding organization of services and prescribing according to national guidelines.

Methods: A theoretical framework of pharmaceutical services for non-complicated malaria was built based on the Rapid Evaluation Method (WHO).

[Uncomplicated malaria treatment in the Brazilian Amazon: knowledge, practices and perceptions of health workers in high-incidence municipalities].

Malaria control in Brazil is based on early diagnosis and adequate and timely treatment as strategies for a rapid and long-lasting cure. Clinical consequences and resistance to antimalarials may arise from problems in prescribing, dispensing and in acceptance of therapeutic regimens by healthcare workers. We studied knowledge and practices, perceptions and attitudes of health workers participating in pharmaceutical services for malaria, regarding the official protocol and the possible flaws in therapy.

Medicine prices and availability in the Brazilian Popular Pharmacy Program.

Objective: To analyze the performance of the Programa Farmácia Popular do Brasil (FPB - Brazilian Popular Pharmacy Program) in the public and private sectors, in terms of availability and cost of medicines for hypertension and diabetes.

Methods: The methodology developed by the World Health Organization, in partnership with the Health Action International, was used to compare medicines prices and availability. This study was performed in May 2007, in different sectors (public, private and the Program's government-managed [FPB-P] and private-sector-managed [FPB-E] categories), in 30 cities in Brazil.