[Evaluation of the capability of decentralized management of epidemiological surveillance in the state of Bahia].

Evaluative research into the capability of decentralized management of epidemiological vigilance (EV) was conducted in the operational, organizational and sustainable dimensions in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The quantitative approach was used in the construction of a baseline, with primary data obtained through an online questionnaire answered by thirty-eight municipal EV managers. In the qualitative approach to analyze the context and assess the management capability of municipalities in two case studies, techniques adapted to the analysis of discursive practices were used.

[Social representations of community health agents regarding drug use].

This paper discusses on the social representations of community health agents (CHAs) about drug use as part of a qualitative, ethnographic study with data collected by means of a set of research techniques among health professionals including 22 CHAs in a basic health unit in Salvador, Bahia (Brazil) from January, 2006 to January, 2007. The Theory of Social Representations was adopted as the theoretical framework whereas gender was the chosen analytical category. CHAs were found to recognize the women's proximity and participation in the drug phenomenon in the community where they live and act, although they take no professional measures towards such an issue.

[Public policy to control violence: a case study in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil].

The aim of this study was to analyze the formulation and preliminary developments of a public policy to control violence in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil. The study's theoretical reference was the cycle of public policies and contributions by 'rational choice'. The public policy analyzed here reached the first three levels of the political decision-making process: the issue was placed on the public agenda and was present in the discourse of public authorities, and a plan was drafted at the municipal level.

[Strategies for the implementation of a new pedagogical proposal at the Nursing School of the Federal University of Bahia].

This article reflects on the process of designing the Pedagogical Project for the Nursing School from Federal University of Bahia. The socialization of this experience intends to contribute with other nursing institutions which, in order to meet new curricular requirements (DCENF--National Curricular Guidelines for Nursing, Medicine, and Nutrition Undergraduate Programs), are going to experience similar processes or which are presently going through the same process. This article includes some historical features and the legal basis for changes, by presenting the reasons for the current proposal, as well as its curricular organization, the main challenges and some strategies for overcoming them.