Recall of substandard medicines in Brazil during the period 2010-2018.

Background: Even with all the care taken during the production process, the pharmaceutical industries are still subject to manufacturing medicines with quality deviations, generating commercialized products without the required quality and necessitating their subsequent recall from the market. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reasons that led to the recall of medicines in Brazil in the period evaluated.

Methods: This is a descriptive study (using document analysis), on the recall of substandard medicines registered on the website of the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), from 2010 to 2018.

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.

Adverse drug reactions in patients with COVID-19 in Brazil: analysis of spontaneous notifications of the Brazilian pharmacovigilance system.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization announced the new COVID-19 pandemic, which represented a challenge for health services and professionals. An effective treatment against this disease has not yet been developed; as such, several drugs are used without evidence of efficacy, which in some cases may lead to unwanted events. This is a cross-sectional study with the objective of evaluating adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in patients with COVID-19, identified between March 1 and August 15, 2020, in Brazil, as well as assessing the factors associated with the emergence of severe reactions.

Does socioeconomic inequality occur in the multimorbidity among Brazilian adults?

Objective: To assess the prevalence of multimorbidity among Brazilian adults and its association with socioeconomic indicators.

Methods: Cross-sectional study that used data from the Pesquisa Nacional Sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos no Brasil (PNAUM - Brazilian National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines), carried out between 2013 and 2014. The definition of multimorbidity was the coexistence, in a single individual, of two or more chronic diseases, measured through a list of 14 morbidities (self-reported medical diagnosis throughout life).

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.

[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.

Overall and Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Brazilian Adults: National Survey Based on the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire.

Background: To describe overall physical activity prevalence measured by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire as well as inequalities in leisure-time physical activity among Brazilian adults (15 y and older).

Methods: Data from the Brazilian Survey on Medicine Access, Utilization, and Rational Use of Medicines were analyzed. The study was carried out between September 2013 and February 2014.

Use of and access to oral and injectable contraceptives in Brazil.

Objective: To analyze the prevalence of current use of oral and injectable contraceptives by Brazilian women, according to demographic and socioeconomic variables and issues related to access to those medicines.

Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based analytical study with probability sampling based on data from 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), carried out between September 2013 and February 2014 in 20,404 Brazilian urban households. Prevalence was calculated based on reports from non-pregnant women aged 15-49 on the use of oral or injectable contraceptives.

Catastrophic expenditure on medicines in Brazil.

Objective: To describe the magnitude of the expenditure on medicines in Brazil according to region, household size and composition in terms of residents in a situation of dependency.

Methods: Population-based data from the national household survey were used, with probabilistic sample, applied between September 2013 and February 2014 in urban households. The expenditure on medicines was the main outcome of interest.

Access to medicines for chronic diseases in Brazil: a multidimensional approach.

Objective: To analyze the access to medicines to treat non-communicable diseases in Brazil according to socioeconomic, demographic, and health-related factors, from a multidimensional perspective.

Methods: Analysis of data from the National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM), household survey, sampling plan by conglomerates with representativeness of the Brazilian population and large areas of the country, according to sex and age domains. Data collected in 2013-2014 with sample of adults (≥ 20 years) who reported having non-communicable diseases and medical indication for use of medicines (n = 12,725).

National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM): household survey component methods.

Objective: To describe methodological aspects of the household survey National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM) related to sampling design and implementation, the actual obtained sample, instruments and fieldwork.

Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based study with probability sampling in three stages of the population living in households located in Brazilian urban areas. Fieldwork was carried out between September 2013 and February 2014.

Access to and use of high blood pressure medications in Brazil.

Objective: To analyze the access to and use of medicines for high blood pressure among the Brazilian population according to social and demographic conditions.

Methods: Analysis of data from 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), a nationwide cross-sectional, population-based study, with probability sampling, carried out between September 2013 and February 2014 in urban households in the five Brazilian regions. The study evaluated the access and use of medicines to treat people with high blood pressure.

Factors associated with low adherence to medicine treatment for chronic diseases in Brazil.

Objective: To analyze factors associated with low adherence to drug treatment for chronic diseases in Brazil.

Methods: Analysis of data from Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos (PNAUM - Brazilian Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines), a population-based cross-sectional household survey, based on a probabilistic sample of the Brazilian population. We analyzed the association between low adherence to drug treatment measured by the Brief Medication Questionnaire and demographic, socioeconomic, health, care and prescription factors.

Polypharmacy and Polymorbidity in Older Adults in Brazil: a public health challenge.

Objective: To analyze variations in the prevalence of chronic use of medicines by older adults in Brazil according to its possible association with the most prevalent chronic diseases and demographic and health factors, and to identify risk factors for polypharmacy.

Methods: A study based on data from the National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM), a cross-sectional, population-based survey with probability sampling in Brazilian urban areas. The independent variable was the number of chronic-use medicines taken by older adults, linked to eight chronic diseases investigated.

Use of generic medicines by the Brazilian population: an evaluation of PNAUM 2014.

Objective: To analyze the existence of differences in the use of generic medicines in Brazil according to demographic and socioeconomic variables and acquisition sources of the medicines.

Methods: Population-based cross-sectional study, conducted with data from the Pesquisa Nacional de Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos (PNAUM - National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines). Data collection took place between September, 2013 and February, 2014 in homes of Brazilian cities (urban area).

Sociodemographic profile of medicines users in Brazil: results from the 2014 PNAUM survey.

Objective: To analyze the prevalence of medicine use by the Brazilian population and its distribution according to sociodemographic factors.

Methods: Study using data from the Pesquisa Nacional de Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos (PNAUM - National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines), a nationwide household survey of a representative sample of the Brazilian urban population. The data were collected between September 2013 and February 2014.

Free access to medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases in Brazil.

Objective: To analyze the free access to medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases in the Brazilian population, according to demographic and socioeconomic factors. We also analyzed the most used pharmacological groups, according to funding source: free-of-charge or out-of-pocket paid.

Methods: Analysis of data from 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), a population-based household survey, of cross-sectional design, based on probabilistic sample of the Brazilian population.

Prevalence of self-medication in Brazil and associated factors.

Objective: To analyze the prevalence and associated factors regarding the use of medicines by self-medication in Brazil.

Methods: This cross-sectional population-based study was conducted using data from the PNAUM (National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines), collected between September 2013 and February 2014 by interviews at the homes of the respondents. All people who reported using any medicines not prescribed by a doctor or dentist were classified as self-medication practitioners.

Use of medicines and other products for therapeutic purposes among children in Brazil.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of the use of medicines and other products for therapeutic purposes in the Brazilian pediatric population and test whether demographic, socioeconomic and health factors are associated with use.

Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study (National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines - PNAUM), including 7,528 children aged 12 or younger, living in urban areas in Brazil. Medicine use to treat chronic or acute diseases was reported by the primary caregiver present at the household interview.

[Drug prescription and dispensing from the patient's perspective: a community-based study in Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil].

The objective of this study was to analyze aspects of the physician-patient and pharmacist-patient relationship, based on patients' opinions. It consists of community-based research performed in Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil, where 957 persons were interviewed; 904 answered questions about the last visit to the physician and 831 about the last visit to the pharmacy. The data reflect several aspects of medical and pharmaceutical practice and patients' attitudes towards the questions posed and information provided to guide rational use of drugs.

[Prevalence and determinants of medicines consumption in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil].

The objective of this work was to investigate the prevalence and determinants of medicines consumption in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out in a representative sample of 331 households. A total of 1,370 persons living in Fortaleza were interviewed from October 2002 to January 2003, and 1,366 were selected for this study.