Breast cancer mortality and associated factors in São Paulo State, Brazil: an ecological analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Identify the factors associated with the age-standardised breast cancer mortality rate in the municipalities of State of São Paulo (SSP), Brazil, in the period from 2006 to 2012. DESIGN: Ecological study of the breast cancer mortality rate standardised by age, as the dependent variable, having each of the 645 municipalities in the SSP as the unit of analysis. SETTINGS: The female resident population aged 15 years or older, by age group and municipality, in 2009 (mid-term), obtained from public dataset (Informatics Department of the Unified Health System). PARTICIPANTS: Women 15 years or older who died of breast cancer in the SSP were selected for the calculation of the breast cancer mortality rate, according to the municipality and age group, from 2006 to 2012. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality rates for each municipality calculated by the direct standardisation method, using the age structure of the population of SSP in 2009 as the standard. RESULTS: In the final linear regression model, breast cancer mortality, in the municipal level, was directly associated with rates of nulliparity (p<0.0001), mammography (p<0.0001) and private healthcare (p=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: The findings that mammography ratio was associated, in the municipal level, with increased mortality add to the evidence of a probable overestimation of benefits and underestimation of risks associated with this form of screening. The same paradoxical trend of increased mortality with screening was found in recent individual-level studies, indicating the need to expand informed choice for patients, primary prevention actions and individualised screening. Additional studies should be conducted to explore if there is a causality link in this association.

Cultural adaptation of the Tuberculosis-related stigma scale to Brazil. / Adaptação cultural para o Brasil da escala Tuberculosis-related stigma.

The process of stigmatization associated with TB has been undervalued in national research as this social aspect is important in the control of the disease, especially in marginalized populations. This paper introduces the stages of the process of cultural adaptation in Brazil of the Tuberculosis-related stigma scale for TB patients. It is a methodological study in which the items of the scale were translated and back-translated with semantic validation with 15 individuals of the target population. After translation, the reconciled back-translated version was compared with the original version by the project coordinator in Southern Thailand, who approved the final version in Brazilian Portuguese. The results of the semantic validation conducted with TB patients enable the identification that, in general, the scale was well accepted and easily understood by the participants.

Adaptação cultural para o Brasil da escala Tuberculosis-related stigma / Cultural adaptation of the Tuberculosis-related stigma scale to Brazil

Resumo O processo de estigmatização associado à tuberculose tem sido pouco valorizado em pesquisas nacionais, sendo esse um aspecto social importante para o controle da doença, sobretudo nas populações marginalizadas. Este artigo apresenta as fases do processo de adaptação cultural para o Brasil da escala Tuberculosis-related stigma para doentes com tuberculose. Trata-se de um estudo metodológico, em que foram realizadas a tradução e a retrotradução dos itens da escala e validação semântica com 17 sujeitos da população-alvo. Após a tradução, a versão conciliada retrotraduzida foi comparada com a versão original pela coordenadora do projeto no Sul da Tailândia, que deu seu parecer favorável para a versão final em português do Brasil. A partir dos resultados da validação semântica, realizada com os doentes de tuberculose, pode-se identificar que, de forma geral, a escala foi bem aceita e de fácil compreensão por parte dos participantes.

Abstract The process of stigmatization associated with TB has been undervalued in national research as this social aspect is important in the control of the disease, especially in marginalized populations. This paper introduces the stages of the process of cultural adaptation in Brazil of the Tuberculosis-related stigma scale for TB patients. It is a methodological study in which the items of the scale were translated and back-translated with semantic validation with 15 individuals of the target population. After translation, the reconciled back-translated version was compared with the original version by the project coordinator in Southern Thailand, who approved the final version in Brazilian Portuguese. The results of the semantic validation conducted with TB patients enable the identification that, in general, the scale was well accepted and easily understood by the participants.

Integrated health service delivery networks and tuberculosis avoidable hospitalizations: is there a relation between them in Brazil?

BACKGROUND: The early identification of the Breathing Symptoms within the scope of Primary Health Care is recommended, and is also one of the strategies of national sanitary authorities for reaching the elimination of tuberculosis. The purpose of this study is to consider which attributes and which territories have shown the most significant progress in Primary Health Care, in terms of coordination of Health Care Networks, and also check if those areas of Primary Health Care that are most critical regarding coordination, there were more or less cases of avoidable hospitalizations for tuberculosis. METHODS: This is an ecological study that uses primary and secondary data. For analysis, coropletic maps were developed through the ArcGIS software, version 10.2. There was also the calculation of gross annual and Bayesian rates for hospitalizations for tuberculosis, for each Primary Health Care territory. RESULTS: There were satisfactory results for attributes such as Population (n = 37; 80.4 %), Primary Health Care (n = 43; 93.5 %), Support System (n = 45; 97.8 %); the exceptions were Logistics System (n = 32; 76.0 %) and Governance System, with fewer units in good condition (n = 31; 67.3 %). There is no evidence of any connection between networks' coordination by Primary Health Care and tuberculosis avoidable admissions. CONCLUSION: The results show that progress has been made regarding the coordination of the Health Care Networks, and a positive trend has been shown, even though the levels are not excellent. It was found no relationship between the critical areas of Primary Health Care and tuberculosis avoidable hospitalizations, possibly because other variables necessary to comprehend the phenomena.

Factors associated with knowledge about tuberculosis and attitudes of relatives of patients with the disease in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the knowledge regarding tuberculosis among relatives of patients with tuberculosis and the possible factors associated with this event and also to conduct comparative analyses between groups of relatives with or with few knowledge regarding tuberculosis, considering their attitudes in both groups. METHODS: Cross-sectional study in which the sample was obtained through simple and randomized method. The data were collected by trained interviewers and validated tool. Logistic regression analyses were done using statistical software SPSS, version 22.0. RESULTS: Among the 110 subjects recruited for the study, 85 (87.5%) were women, and the mean age was 49 years. Regarding common symptoms of tuberculosis, 102 relatives (90.9%) pointed the chronic cough; regarding the knowledge about tuberculosis transmission modes, 100 (90.9%) of them pointed symptomatic respiratory as the probable infection source. The relatives also reported other tuberculosis transmission models: sharing of clothes (n = 87; 79.1%) and household utensils (n = 66; 60%); sexual relations (n = 50; 50%). Illiterate relatives (adjusted OR = 4.39; 95%CI 1.11 - 17.36), those who do not watch or watch little television (adjusted OR = 3.99; 95%CI 1.2 - 13.26), and also those who do not have the Internet access (adjusted OR = 5.01; 95%CI 1.29 - 19.38) were more likely to have low knowledge regarding tuberculosis. Regardless the group, with or without tuberculosis knowledge, the attitudes of both were satisfactory. CONCLUSION: There are evidences that social inequity is associated to the tuberculosis knowledge of patient relatives.

Factors associated with knowledge about tuberculosis and attitudes of relatives of patients with the disease in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil / Fatores associados ao conhecimento sobre tuberculose e atitudes das famílias de pacientes com a doença em Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo

To investigate the knowledge regarding tuberculosis among relatives of patients with tuberculosis and the possible factors associated with this event and also to conduct comparative analyses between groups of relatives with or with few knowledge regarding tuberculosis, considering their attitudes in both groups.

Investigar o conhecimento das famílias sobre tuberculose e os possíveis fatores associados a essa ocorrência, além de efetuar uma análise comparativa dos grupos de familiares com conhecimento ou com pouco conhecimento quanto às suas atitudes para com o paciente com tuberculose.

Patients' perceptions on the performance of a local health system to eliminate leprosy,Paraná State, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: In Brazil, leprosy has been listed among the health priorities since 2006, in a plan known as the "Pact for life" (Pacto pela Vida). It is the sole country on the American continent that has not reached the global goal of disease elimination. Local health systems face many challenges to achieve this global goal. The study aimed to investigate how patients perceive the local health system's performance to eliminate leprosy and whether these perceptions differ in terms of the patients' income. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Londrina, State of Paraná, Brazil. Interviews were performed with the leprosy patients. The local health system was assessed through a structured and adapted tool, considering the domains judged as good quality of health care. The authors used univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses. One hundred and nineteen patients were recruited for the study, 50.4% (60) of them were male, 54.0% (64) were between 42 and 65 years old and 66.3% (79) had finished elementary school. The results showed that patients used the Primary Health Care service near their place of residence but did not receive the leprosy diagnosis there. Important advances of this health system were verified for the elimination of leprosy, verifying protocols for good care delivery to the leprosy patients, but these services did not develop collective health actions and did not engage the patients' family members and community. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The patients' difficulty was observed to have access to the diagnosis and treatment at health services near their homes. Leprosy care is provided at the specialized level, where the patients strongly bond with the teams. The care process is individual, with limited perspectives of integration among the health services for the purpose of case management and social mobilization of the community to the leprosy problem.

Estigma social e as famílias de doentes com tuberculose: um estudo a partir das análises de agrupamento e de correspondência múltipla / Social stigma and the families of patients with tuberculosis: a study based on cluster and multiple correspondence analysis

O estigma social da tuberculose é um desafio que se coloca à gestão do cuidado na área da saúde pública. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar o estigma social em famílias de doentes com TB e identificar o perfil daquelas que são acometidas pelo evento em relação às condições socioeconômicas e demográficas. Trata-se de um estudo transversal realizado no município de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil, em 2011, com uma amostra de 110 sujeitos. Os dados foram analisados mediante técnica descritiva univariada e análises de agrupamento e de correspondência múltipla. Os grupos com estigma apresentaram baixa escolaridade, acesso incipiente aos meios de informação e pouca mobilização referente à compreensão sobre a doença, diferenciando-se dos demais grupos que apresentam comportamentos e atitudes positivas, com níveis de escolaridade mais elevados, acesso contínuo aos meios de informação e se dizem conhecedores da TB. A identificação de diferentes perfis aponta para necessidade de serem desenvolvidas ações em saúde sensíveis às singularidades das famílias no que se refere ao estigma social da doença.

The social stigma associated with TB is a challenge facing management of the area of public health care. The aim of this study was to investigate the social stigma in families of patients with TB and identify the profile of those who are affected by the event in relation to socioeconomic and demographic conditions. It is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2011 in the city of Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo, Brazil, with a sample of 110 individuals. The data were analyzed using the univariate descriptive technique and cluster and multiple correspondence assessment. The stigmatized groups tend to have lower scholarity, incipient access to the media and little understanding about TB, as opposed to those that have higher educational levels, continuous access to the media, consider themselves well informed and show proactive attitudes to deal with the disease. The identification of varied profiles highlights the need to develop health interventions to cater to the singularities of families with respect to the social stigma of the disease.

[Social stigma and the families of patients with tuberculosis: a study based on cluster and multiple correspondence analysis]. / Estigma social e as famílias de doentes com tuberculose: um estudo a partir das análises de agrupamento e de correspondência múltipla.

The social stigma associated with TB is a challenge facing management of the area of public health care. The aim of this study was to investigate the social stigma in families of patients with TB and identify the profile of those who are affected by the event in relation to socioeconomic and demographic conditions. It is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2011 in the city of Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo, Brazil, with a sample of 110 individuals. The data were analyzed using the univariate descriptive technique and cluster and multiple correspondence assessment. The stigmatized groups tend to have lower scholarity, incipient access to the media and little understanding about TB, as opposed to those that have higher educational levels, continuous access to the media, consider themselves well informed and show proactive attitudes to deal with the disease. The identification of varied profiles highlights the need to develop health interventions to cater to the singularities of families with respect to the social stigma of the disease.