Drug dispensing in public community pharmacies: evidence from the MedMinas project.

Background: Drug dispensing is a service provided by pharmacists to ensure the supply of medications and other health-related products. However, despite the importance of dispensing services, Public Community Pharmacies (PCP) in Brazil still focus on the control and distribution of medicines and supplies. Thus, this paper aims to evaluate how the pharmacists in charge conduct and the challenges they encounter in dispensing services in PCP.

Isoniazid use, effectiveness, and safety for treatment of latent tuberculosis infection: a systematic review.

Background: The treatment strategy for latent tuberculosis infection is to reduce the number of tuberculosis cases and consequently reduce the transmission of pathogenic bacteria. This study aimed to determine the safety, effectiveness, and adherence of isoniazid use for latent tuberculosis infection treatment.

Methods: To identify studies on isoniazid use for latent tuberculosis infection, five electronic databases were searched.

[The evolution of Brazilian human health policies for the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance: a scoping reviewEvolución de las políticas de prevención y control de la resistencia a los antimicrobianos desde la perspectiva de la salud humana en Brasil: revisión exploratoria].

Objective: To map the policies related to the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance from a human health perspective in Brazil and systematize the historical course of these policies.

Method: A scoping review was performed following Joana Briggs Institute and PRISMA guidelines. A literature search was performed in December 2020 in the LILACS, PubMed and EMBASE databases.

Difficulties in the use of medications by elderly people followed up in a cohort study in Southern Brazil.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the need for help by elderly people to take their medications, the difficulties related to this activity, the frequency of forgotten doses, and factors associated.

Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with a cohort of elderly people (60 years and over - "COMO VAI?" [How do you do?] study), where the need for help to properly take medication and the difficulties faced in using them were evaluated. The Poisson regression model was used to estimate the crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) of the outcomes and respective 95% confidence intervals according to the characteristics of the sample.

Protocol for pragmatic randomized clinical trial to evaluate the completion of treatment of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection with Isoniazid in the 300 mg formulation.

Introduction: It is essential to strengthen the treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) to break the chain of transmission. The drug used worldwide for the treatment of LTBI is Isoniazid. A clinical trial conducted in Brazil has demonstrated the bioequivalence of Isoniazid in the 300 mg formulation with 3 tablets in the 100 mg formulation.

An analysis of the essential medicines policy in primary care: Findings from MedMinas project.

Essential Medicines Policy (EMP) has been adopted in Brazil to improve the provision and use of pharmaceuticals. This mixed methods study aims to bring evidence of the EMP implemented in municipalities in the context of primary care in Minas Gerais (20,997,560 inhabitants), Southeast Brazil. We analysed the core output of the EMP, i.

Sources of medicines for hypertension and diabetes in Brazil: results from the National Health Survey.

This study aims to analyze the sources people over 18 years of age use to obtain medication for the treatment of hypertension and diabetes, according to sociodemographic characteristics from 2013 to 2019. Data from the Brazilian National Health Survey were analyzed. Most individuals with diagnosis and prescription to pharmacological treatment reported obtaining medicines exclusively from one type of source.

National Health Survey 2019: medication obtainment through the Brazilian Popular Pharmacy Program by adults being treated for hypertension and diabetes.

Objective: To describe the proportion of adults with hypertension and diabetes who obtained medication through the Brazilian Popular Pharmacy Program (Programa Farmácia Popular).

Method: Population-based descriptive study, using data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey. The proportion of individuals who obtained at least one type of medication for hypertension and diabetes in the Program was analysed according to socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, by regions and federative units.

Parents' satisfaction with information received on psychotropic drugs used by adolescents in a Mental Health Unit.

Objective: To analyze the satisfaction of those responsible for adolescents with information received for the use of psychotropic drugs.

Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in a reference outpatient clinic in Brasília between 2017 and 2019. It involved 173 legal representatives of adolescents diagnosed with Mental and Behavioral Disorders using psychotropic drugs.

MedMinas project: design and use of mixed methods in the evaluation of pharmaceutical services in primary health care in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Background: The main purposes of primary care-based pharmaceutical services (PHCPS) in Brazil are to provide free access to medicines and pharmaceutical care to patients. Several obstacles hinder achieving their goals; thus, MedMinas Project aimed to evaluate the PHCPS, the supply system, and the use of medicines. This paper reflects on our experience designing, planning, and conducting the project, describing the issues yielded in the field and lessons learned.

Benzodiazepines utilization in Brazilian older adults: a population-based study.

Objective: To evaluate the utilization of benzodiazepines (BZD) in Brazilian older adults, based on the Pesquisa Nacional de Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos (PNAUM - National Survey of Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines).

Methods: The PNAUM is a cross-sectional study conducted between 2013 and 2014, representing the Brazilian urban population. In the present study, we included 60 years or older (n = 9,019) individuals.

Policy and strategies addressing prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance in Brazil: A scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered one of the biggest health challenges of the 21st century. It has both social and economic consequences; therefore, timely review of public health policies that have been designed to manage AMR is essential. Brazil too has developed and implemented various polices for the prevention and control of AMR.

Direct cost of systemic arterial hypertension and its complications in the circulatory system from the perspective of the Brazilian public health system in 2019.

Introduction: Systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), a global public health problem and the primary risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, has a significant financial impact on health systems. In Brazil, the prevalence of SAH is 23.7%, which caused 203,000 deaths and 3.

User evaluation of public pharmacy services in Brazil.

Objective of this article is to evaluate aspects related to the services provided in SUS pharmacies in Brazil, according to users' perception. Data from the National Survey of Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines carried out between 2013 and 2014 were used. Individuals who obtained drugs from public pharmacies were analyzed.

Inappropriate use of medicines and associated factors in Brazil: an approach from a national household survey.

This article aims to describe the inappropriate use of medicines in the Brazilian urban population and to identify associated factors. We conducted a data analysis of a household survey carried out in Brazil in 2013-14. The sampling plan was done by clusters with representativeness of the urban population and large regions of the country, according to gender and age domains.

[Use of artificial sweeteners in Brazil: a household survey approach].

The objective was to estimate the prevalence of artificial sweetener use by the adult Brazilian population and users' characteristics. Analysis of data from the Brazilian National Survey on Access, Utilization, and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM, 2014), a nationwide population-based survey. The target outcome was self-reported use of sweeteners by Brazilians 20 years and older.

Medicine package inserts from the users' perspective: are they read and understood?

Introduction: The written information on medicines has been acknowledged as an important tool for health education.

Objective: To analyze the use and understanding of medicine package inserts by users and assess sociodemographic and medical factors associated with their comprehension.

Method: Data in this analysis are part of the PNAUM National Survey - a cross-sectional population-based study conducted in Brazil.

Prevalence and characteristics of adverse drug events in Brazil.

The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of adverse drug events (ADEs) and associated factors reported by users of medicines in Brazil. This was a cross-sectional population-based study conducted from September 2013 to February 2014 with data from the Brazilian National Survey on Access, Use, and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM). The study included all individuals that reported the use of medicines and identified, among them, all those reporting at least one problem with the medicine's use.

Pharmaceutical services in the primary health care of the Brazilian Unified Health System: advances and challenges.

This study is a synthesis of the main results of the Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos (PNAUM - National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines), Evaluation Component of the Basic Pharmaceutical Services. Based on the critical narrative of the elements of Brazil's pharmaceutical policies, we discuss aspects related to the structure of the pharmaceutical services, the medicines' sanitary state, human resources, access to medicines, rational use and management. Despite the advances that reflect the commitment of the group of actors involved, the results of the Survey indicate challenges, such as equitable access to medicines, the structuring of pharmaceutical services, the improvement of logistics and administration, and the implementation of actions directed to pharmaceutical care in the health units.

Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services in Brazilian primary health care.

Objective: To evaluate patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services in Brazilian primary health care.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional, exploratory, and evaluative study on a representative sample from the five Brazilian geopolitical regions resulting from the Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos - Serviços, 2015 (PNAUM - National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines - Services, 2015). The outcome was the patient's satisfaction, obtained using the item response theory.

Access and adherence to medication among people with diabetes in Brazil: evidences from PNAUM.

Objective: To describe people with diabetes in Brazil and to compare their sociodemographic characteristics, access and self-reported adherence to diabetes prescribed drugs.

Methods: Data analysis from the National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of the Rational Use of Medicines, a household survey, with sampling by clusters, according to sex and age domains and national and macro-regional representativeness. Adults (≥ 20 years old) who reported having diabetes constituted the sample.

Comments on "The organization of pharmaceutical services by 'health region' in Brazil's Unified Health System".

This study aimed to describe and characterize the pharmaceutical services provided in Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS) from the point of view of the healthcare networks that are organized by region in the QualiSUS-Rede Project. This was a cross-sectional study, with data collected from December 2013 to July 2015, in public health establishments that carried out delivery or warehousing of medications (n = 4,938), in 465 municipalites, and the Federal District, in 43'Health Regions'. The results show the existence of at least one management service supporting the health network, and warehousing of medications in all the regions (> 90%).