ABSTRACT Since March 2020, Brazil has faced the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), which has severely modified the way in which the population lives and uses health services. As such, face-to-face attendance has dropped dramatically, even for child vaccination, due to measures of social distancing to mitigate the transmission of the virus. Several countries have recorded a substantial drop in vaccination coverage in children, especially of those under two years of age. In Brazil, administrative data indicate the […]

ABSTRACT The study discusses the possible role of adequate vitamin D status in plasma or serum for preventing acute respiratory infections during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our arguments respond to an article, published in Italy, that describes the high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in older Italian women and raises the possible preventive and therapeutic role of optimal vitamin D levels. Based on literature review, we highlight the findings regarding the protective role of vitamin D for infectious diseases of the respiratory […]

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Identify and critically evaluate systematic reviews addressing the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the number of prescriptions of potentially inappropriate medication to older patients. METHODS: This is an overview of systematic reviews. The studies were searched and selected from Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, Virtual Health Library, and Web of Science databases, combining the terms aged, prescriptions, inappropriate prescribing and potentially inappropriate medication list with their entry terms and other related descriptors, published by June 2017. This study […]

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based intervention in reducing binge drinking among nightclub patrons after six months. METHODS We carried out a website survey with probabilistic sample in 31 nightclubs in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, which originated a randomized controlled trial with 1,057 participants. Those classified as problem drinkers (n = 465) using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test were randomized into two study groups – intervention and control. The web-based intervention consisted of exposing […]

ABSTRACT To summarize the historical events and drivers underlying public policy for the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections in Brazil and in the United Kingdom. In doing so, the article aims to identify lessons and recommendations for future development of public policy. The analysis is based on a historical overview of national healthcare-associated infections programs taken from previously published sources. Findings highlight how the development of healthcare-associated infections prevention and control policies followed similar trajectories in Brazil and the […]

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the validity and reliability of an instrument that evaluates the structure of primary health care units for the treatment of tuberculosis. METHODS This cross-sectional study used simple random sampling and evaluated 1,037 health care professionals from five Brazilian municipalities (Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte; Cabedelo, state of Paraíba; Foz do Iguaçu, state of Parana; Sao José do Rio Preto, state of Sao Paulo, and Uberaba, state of Minas Gerais) in 2011. Structural indicators were identified […]

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects of a pedagogical intervention on the learning of children and teenagers participating in a clinical research. METHODS: Quantitative, quasi-experimental and longitudinal study, part of a group of studies conducted to test a vaccine against ancylostomiasis. Convenience sample with 133 students aged 10-17 years, of both sexes, from the school Escola Municipal de Maranhão (Southeastern Brazil), 2009. A structured questionnaire was used, which was administered before and after the intervention. The pedagogical device was the “Theater […]

OBJECTIVE: To develop a model to assess different strategies of pertussis booster vaccination in the city of São Paulo. METHODS: A dynamic stationary age-dependent compartmental model with waning immunity was developed. The “Who Acquires Infection from Whom” matrix was used to modeling age-dependent transmission rates. There were tested different strategies including vaccine boosters to the current vaccination schedule and three of them were reported: (i) 35% coverage at age 12, or (ii) 70% coverage at age 12, and (iii) 35% […]

OBJECTIVE: To describe HIV prevalence in pregnant women and the rate of vertical transmission according to socioeconomic status of residential neighborhoods. METHODS: Ecological exploratory study, which used the Information System of Notifiable Diseases database on HIV-positive pregnant women and AIDS in children, reported from 2000 to 2006, in Vitória, Southeastern Brazil. For analysis of socioeconomic data the Urban Quality Index was utilized The HIV prevalence rate in pregnant women and vertical transmission rate were calculated. Spatial distribution was carried out […]

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the potential productivity of artificial, permanent, and natural breeding containers of Aedes albopictus, potential vector species of dengue. METHODS: Three locations were selected for this study: a) warehouse of disposable material goods in the urban area of Pindamonhangaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil; b) a small leisure farmland in Tremembé, state of São Paulo; and c) residual forest in the periurban area of Pindamonhangaba. All breeding containers were assessed and classified according to their water volume ( […]