Building the capacity of community health workers to support health and social care for dependent older people in Latin America: a pilot study in Fortaleza, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Brazil is seeing rapid population ageing, which is leading to new demands on primary health care services. There is a need to develop and assess the effectiveness of new interventions to build the capacity of staff, including community health workers, to meet the needs of groups such as care-dependent older people and their care-givers. This study examines the feasibility of a small training intervention piloted in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza. METHODS: The study evaluated participants' own assessments of key knowledge and skills related to the needs of care-dependent older people, both before and after the training intervention. It also assessed their capacity to implement a simple screening tool of geriatric risk factors. RESULTS: The participant self-assessments indicate significant improvements in their perceived knowledge and capacity in responding to the health needs of care-dependent older people. Additionally, participants were able to successfully conduct the home visits and screening for risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates the feasibility of developing interventions to enhance the capacity of community health workers to meet the needs of dependent older people in countries like Brazil. The evidence of effectiveness, though limited and subjective, provides justification for a larger, formally evaluated intervention. The experience of Fortaleza provides valuable lessons for other cities and countries in the region which are facing similar challenges.

An emergency strategy framework for managing COVID-19 in long-term care facilities in Brazil / Uma estratégia de emergência estruturada para o manejo da COVID-19 em instituições de longa permanência no Brasil

This paper presents a novel policy framework to support government responses to COVID-19 in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in low and middle-income countries. It focuses on issues that are of specific relevance to Brazilian policy-settings, including examples of its local implementation. The CIAT Framework combines and summarizes broad elements for an emergency strategy to address the potential effects of COVID-19. The 4 steps of the Framework entail policies to coordinate, identify, assess, and target support. Those policies can be applied immediately to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in LTCFs. It is, however, essential to situate these responses within a more comprehensive and permanent strategy. Intersectoral collaboration must evolve into a fully institutionalized system.

Este artigo apresenta uma nova estrutura de política para dar apoio às respostas do governo à COVID-19 em instituições de longa permanência para idosos (ILPIs) em países de baixa e média renda. Se concentra em questões que são de relevância específica às organizações que decidem sobre as políticas brasileiras, incluindo exemplos de sua implementação local. A Matriz CIAT combina e resume amplos elementos de uma estratégia de emergência para abordar os potenciais efeitos da COVID19. As 4 etapas da Matriz envolvem políticas para a coordenação, identificação, avaliação e direcionamento do apoio. Essas políticas podem ser aplicadas imediatamente para atenuar o impacto da pandemia de COVID-19 nas ILPIs. É, no entanto, essencial situar essas respostas dentro de uma estratégia mais abrangente e permanente. A colaboração intersetorial deve evoluir para um sistema totalmente institucionalizado.