Exposure to heavy metals due to pesticide use by vineyard farmers.

Objectives: To statistically analyze serum heavy metal levels in biological samples obtained from vineyard workers from southern Brazil and check for heavy metal exposure due to pesticide use.

Methods: Serum samples were obtained from 54 farmers and 108 healthy unexposed individuals. Samples from the same farmers were obtained at three different time points over a 1-year period.

[Training local teams as a strategy to institutionalize evaluation in the health system].

This article reports on the methodology used by the research team of the State University in Maringá in the Baseline Study in 20 municipalities in the States of Paraná and Santa Catarina, Brazil, with more than 100,000 inhabitants each, in the implementation of the Project for Expansion and Consolidation of the Family Health Strategy. Workshops to discuss the evaluation of programs, construction and application of research instruments, site visits to supervise activities in disseminating the program, and development of a database with the local and regional scientific output were carried out. There was an obvious sense of responsibility and commitment on the part of municipal and State representatives, the majority of whom immediately agreed to the activities.