Community health workers programme in Luanda, Angola: an evaluation of the implementation process.

BACKGROUND: The Community Health Workers (CHWs) Programme was launched in Luanda, Angola, in 2007 as an initiative of the provincial government. The aim of this study was to assess its implementation process. METHODS: This is a case study with documental analysis, CHWs reports data, individual interviews and focus groups. RESULTS: Until June 2009, the programme had placed in the community 2,548 trained CHWs, providing potential coverage for 261,357 families. Analysis of qualitative data suggested an association of CHWs with improvements in maternal and child access to health care, as well as an increase in the demand for health services, generating further need to improve service capacity. Nevertheless, critical points for programme sustainability were identified. CONCLUSIONS: For continuity and scaling up, the programme needs medium- and long-term technical, political and financial support. The results of this study may be useful in strengthening and reformulating the planning of the CHWs programme in Luanda and in Angola. Moreover, the lessons learned with this experience can also provide insight for the development of CHWs programmes in other parts of the world. By means of cooperation, Brazil has supported the implementation of this CHWs programme and can potentially contribute to its improvement.

Health and health care of mothers and children in a suburban area of Luanda, Angola.

Population health data available in Angola are often insufficient to guide the planning of health interventions. To address this gap, the goal of the present study was to investigate the health of mothers and infants in a suburban municipality in Luanda (Cacuaco), in order to provide a baseline for future comparisons. This was a prevalence study investigating infants younger than 2 years of age and their mothers. Mothers were interviewed, and children's height and weight were measured. Of 749 mothers interviewed, 98.5% (95% CI 98.2-99.1%) had at least one prenatal visit and 51.7% (95% CI 47.4-56.3%) had a health card. Most mothers with a health card had their first prenatal visit before the 20th week of pregnancy, and had at least four prenatal visits; 81.1% (95% CI 78.3-84.1%) of mothers also had their child's health card. Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months was 19% (95% CI 16.2-23.1%). Prevalence of low height-for-age and low BMI-for-age were 32 and 6%, respectively. Mothers with higher education levels were more likely to have had their first prenatal visit earlier, to have had more prenatal visits, to have given birth at a health facility, and to have her own and her child's health cards. Results showed a high prevalence of prenatal care and a low frequency of acute malnutrition. Maternal education level, among factors studied, was the predominant correlate of more positive health behaviors. These findings suggest important progress of mother and child health in Cacuaco, and may serve as a baseline for the planning of health interventions.

Estratégia saúde da família rural no Nordeste do Brasil: percepções de profissionais sobre a saúde e ambiente / Rural family health strategy in Northeastern Brazil: professionals' perceptions of health and the environment

Objetivo: compreender as percepções de profissionais da Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) que atuam em territórios rurais de municípios do Nordeste brasileiro acerca das inter-relações entre a saúde e ambiente no processo saúde-doença-cuidado da população.Método: pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa, em que se realizaram 29 entrevistas de sete categorias profissionais. Adotou-se a análise temática para o processamento e interpretação do material empírico. Resultados: foram discutidas a necessidade de informação acerca de questões ambientais e seu impacto no processo saúde-doença e a consciência ambiental na dimensão do território. Há compreensão do ambiente como determinante de saúde, porém sob uma perspectiva embrionária, além de uma articulação insuficiente entre determinação social e práticas emancipatórias no contexto de saúde e ambiente. Conclusões: ressalta-se a importância de fortalecer as práticas na ESF a partir dos pressupostos explicitados na Política Nacional de Saúde Integral da População de Campo Florestas e Águas. Reforça-se a necessidade de se desenvolver processos formativos, envolvendo a equipe para contribuir na transformação da realidade em saúde da população de campo e das águas.

Objective: To understand the perceptions of Family Health Strategy (ESF, in Portuguese) professionals working in rural territories in municipalities of the Brazilian Northeast on the interrelationships between health and the environment in the health-disease-care process of the population. Method: qualitative research, in which 29 interviews in seven professional categories were carried out. Thematic analysis was adopted for the processing and interpretation of the empirical material. Results: it was discussed the need for information about environmental issues and their impact on the health-disease process, as well as environmental awareness in the dimension of the territory. From an embryonic perspective, there is an understanding of the environment as a determinant of health, with insufficient articulation between social determinants and emancipatory practices in the context of health and the environment. Conclusion: We emphasize the importance of strengthening ESF practices based on the assumptions outlined in the National Policy for the Integral Health of the Populations of the Field, Forest, and Water. We reinforce the need to develop training processes involving the team to contribute to the transformation of the health reality of the countryside and water populations.

Vínculo: um conceito problemático no campo da Saúde Coletiva / Bond: a problematic concept in the Collective Health area

Resumo A relação entre os profissionais e as pessoas que usam os serviços de saúde é um tema importante no âmbito do SUS e adquire uma linguagem especial na Política Nacional de Atenção Básica (PNAB) pelo uso da palavra vínculo. O objetivo deste artigo é focalizar a dimensão semântica do uso do termo "vínculo" em Saúde Coletiva, revisando pesquisas e textos oficiais da política setorial que o incluem em seus descritores ou o apontam como relevante em seus resultados. Selecionamos 52 artigos nas bases Lilacs e SciELO, incluindo nos campos assunto ou título a palavra "vínculo", associando-a aos descritores: Atenção Primária à Saúde, Atenção Básica à Saúde, Sistema Único de Saúde, Saúde da Família, Estratégia Saúde da Família, Saúde Coletiva, Saúde Pública. Concluímos que, apesar de os estudos aludirem ao termo/conceito constatando sua inequívoca importância no campo da saúde, o vínculo quase sempre é algo não visto, mas que deveria existir como condição para funcionamento do serviço em termos de responsabilização e longitudinalidade do cuidado. Este lugar de invisibilidade certamente não significa o lugar da não existência, mas da precariedade teórico-metodológica concernente a concepções e desenhos de pesquisas que tocam fenômenos relacionais tão complexos quanto este no campo da Saúde Coletiva.

Abstract he relationship between professionals and people who use health services is an important issue within the scope of the SUS and acquires a special language in the National Primary Care Policy (PNAB) by the use of the word "bond". This article aims to focus on the semantic dimension of the use of the term "bond" in Collective Health, reviewing research and official texts of the sector policy that include it in its descriptors or point it as relevant in its results. We selected 52 articles in Lilacs and SciELO databases, including in the subject or title fields the word "bond", associating it with the descriptors: Primary Health Care, Basic Health Care, Single Health System, Family Health, Family Health Strategy, Collective Health, Public Health. We conclude that, although the studies refer to the term/concept noting its unequivocal importance in the field of health, bond is almost always something not seen, but that it should exist as a condition for the functioning of the service in terms of accountability and longitudinality of care. This place of invisibility certainly does not mean the place of non-existence, but of the theoretical-methodological precariousness concerning conceptions and designs of research that touch on such complex relational phenomena as this one in the field of Collective Health.