Populism and health. An evaluation of the effects of right-wing populism on the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

What are the effects of right-wing populism in the struggle against COVID-19? We explore data from Brazil, a country whose populist radical right-wing president was among the prominent denialists regarding the effects of the pandemic. Using cross-sectional and weekly-panel data for 5,570 municipalities during 2020, we present evidence that social distancing was weakened, and the number of cases and deaths were higher in places where the president had received greater electoral support during the 2018 presidential elections. Placebo tests using traditional right-wing vote and data on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) before the pandemic outbreak indicate that the former does not correlate with health outcomes, and the populist share of the vote does not correlate with the latter.

Cultural adaptation and Rasch psychometrics of the Substance Addiction Consequences scale.

This study aims to adapt and evaluate the validity of the Substance Addiction Consequences scale for the Brazilian community-based addiction setting. This is a psychometric study, conducted in two stages: (1) cultural adaptation and (2) validation using the psychometric Rasch model. The Substance Addiction Consequences derived from the Nursing Outcome Classification comprises 16 items and four domains in the original instrument.

Consequences of psychoactive substance use: a comparative study of two services in Brazil and Portugal.

Objective: To compare the consequences of psychoactive substance use among users of mental health services in Brazil and Portugal.

Method: Cross-sectional, comparative, quantitative study, carried out with 362 users of two specialized treatment services in the cities of São Paulo (n = 200) and Lisbon (n = 162). Data collected in 2019 through the application of the Substance Addiction Consequences scale.

Internal Consistency and Convergent Validity of the Portuguese Versions of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Initial and Short Screener: Validity of the Portuguese GAIN-I and SS.

Unlabelled: The goal of this article is to present evidence on the internal consistency and convergent validity of the Brazilian Portuguese versions of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-"Initial" and "Short Screener" versions.

Methods: One hundred sixty-eight individuals from an inpatient service and/or a community-based outpatient service located in São Paulo were interviewed using the Brazilian Portuguese versions of the instruments. The internal consistency of the instruments scales was computed, along with evidence for the convergent validity between corresponding subscales of the Initial and Short Screener instruments.

Drug use, mental health and problems related to crime and violence: cross-sectional study.

Objective: To investigate the correlation between disorders related to the use of alcohol and other drugs and symptoms of mental disorders, problems related to crime and violence and to age and gender.

Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study carried out with 128 users of a Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and other Drugs, in the city of São Paulo, interviewed by means of the instrument entitled Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - Short Screener. Univariate and multiple linear regression models were used to verify the correlation between the variables.

Rasch model of the GAIN substance problem scale among inpatient and outpatient clients in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Introduction: This study used the Rasch model to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Substance Problem Scale (SPS) of the "Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - Initial" for use in Brazil. The SPS measures alcohol and drug problem severity within a DSM-IV-TR framework. The goal of the Rasch analysis was to assess scale dimensionality, item severity, and differential item functioning (DIF).