Simplified sewerage to prevent urban leptospirosis transmission: a cluster non-randomised controlled trial protocol in disadvantaged urban communities of Salvador, Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Leptospirosis is a globally distributed zoonotic and environmentally mediated disease that has emerged as a major health problem in urban slums in developing countries. Its aetiological agent is bacteria of the genus Leptospira, which are mainly spread in the urine of infected rodents, especially in an environment where adequate sanitation facilities are lacking, and it is known that open sewers are key transmission sources of the disease. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of a simplified sewerage intervention in reducing the risk of exposure to contaminated environments and Leptospira infection and to characterise the transmission mechanisms involved. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This matched quasi-experimental study design using non-randomised intervention and control clusters was designed to assess the effectiveness of an urban simplified sewerage intervention in the low-income communities of Salvador, Brazil. The intervention consists of household-level piped sewerage connections and community engagement and public involvement activities. A cohort of 1400 adult participants will be recruited and grouped into eight clusters consisting of four matched intervention-control pairs with approximately 175 individuals in each cluster in baseline. The primary outcome is the seroincidence of Leptospira infection assessed through five serological measurements: one preintervention (baseline) and four postintervention. As a secondary outcome, we will assess Leptospira load in soil, before and after the intervention. We will also assess Leptospira exposures before and after the intervention, through transmission modelling, accounting for residents' movement, contact with flooding, contaminated soil and water, and rat infestation, to examine whether and how routes of exposure for Leptospira change following the introduction of sanitation. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study protocol has been reviewed and approved by the ethics boards at the Federal University of Bahia and the Brazilian National Research Ethics Committee. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations to implementers, researchers and participating communities. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry (RBR-8cjjpgm).

O ensino das ciências sociais e humanas na graduação em saúde coletiva: entre desafios e oportunidades de transgressões / Teaching social and human sciences in the collective health undergraduate course: between challenges and opportunities for transgressions

Resumo A implantação, em 2009, do curso de graduação em saúde coletiva (GSC) no Brasil e sua progressiva disseminação trouxe à tona velhas questões de ordem epistemológica, prática ou político-institucional relacionadas ao ensino das ciências sociais e humanas (CSH) nesse contexto e fez emergir outras. Sobretudo, esse novo curso recoloca no centro do debate a questão da identidade do campo da saúde coletiva ou as especificidades de seus objetos, atores/agentes, conhecimentos e práticas. Afinal, tanto os projetos pedagógicos (perfil de egresso, estrutura curricular etc.) quanto seu modus operandi refletem uma dada concepção do campo. Propõe-se, neste artigo, discutir peculiaridades e desafios do ensino das CSH na GSC, considerando esses elementos a partir da análise da experiência de um curso em particular ou, melhor dito, do compartilhamento de vivências e impressões das autoras que integram seu corpo docente. Na primeira parte do texto, são esboçados argumentos em defesa da formação emancipatória e do conhecimento pluriuniversitário, apoiados no diálogo com Boaventura de Souza Santos. Entende-se que tais perspectivas são especialmente bem-vindas na GSC, a qual tem se revelado um espaço profícuo de experimentação de novas formas de agir na educação e na saúde.

Abstract The implementation, from 2009, of the undergraduate course on collective health (GSC) in Brazil and its progressively dissemination has brought to the surface old epistemological, practical or political-institutional issues, and led to the emergence of others. Above all, it should be noted that this new undergraduate course puts once again in the center of the debate the question of the collective health identity or, rather, the specificities of its objects, actors, knowledge and practices. After all, both the pedagogical projects (student's profile, curricular structure etc.) as its modus operandi reflect a given conception of the field. This article discusses the singularities and challenges of teaching social and human sciences in the undergraduate course in collective health, considering these elements through the analysis of a particular course or, better said, the sharing of experiences and impressions of the authors that integrate its academic staff. In the first part of the article, arguments are presented in defense of the emancipatory formation and multi-university knowledge, supported by the dialogue with Boaventura de Souza Santos. It is considered that such perspectives are especially welcome in undergraduate collective health, which has proved to be a useful space for experimenting new ways of acting in education and health.

["Before and after CML": illness experiences and dimensions of chronic myeloid leukemia as a biographical disruption]. / "Antes e depois da LMC": experiências e dimensões da leucemia mieloide crônica como uma ruptura biográfica.

This article examines the illness experiences of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), focusing on dimensions that link the onset of the disease as a biographical disruption. This qualitative study was based on analysis of narratives by six patients 23 to 62 years of age who were users of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) and patients at a referral hospital for hematological care in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil. The results reveal the experience of disruption in three categories: (1) the meanings of illness and CML as life-threatening, (2) physical and social disruption and stigmatizing experiences, and (3) the "before-and-after" perception of CML, focusing on changes in self, social relations, and daily life. The article concludes that the biographical, social, and health-system impacts (considering the cost of medication) update and extend issues such as access to treatment and confronting certainty and uncertainty, where patients struggle to draw on their everyday knowledge to deal with what is "known" about CML.

"Antes e depois da LMC": experiências e dimensões da leucemia mieloide crônica como uma ruptura biográfica / "Before and after CML": illness experiences and dimensions of chronic myeloid leukemia as a biographical disruption / "Antes y después de la LMC": experiencias y dimensiones de la leucemia mieloide crónica como ruptura biográfica

O artigo analisa as experiências de enfermidade de pacientes com leucemia mieloide crônica (LMC), centrando nas dimensões que apontam a chegada da doença como uma ruptura biográfica. Este estudo qualitativo baseou-se na análise das narrativas de seis pacientes, com idades entre 23 e 62 anos, usuários do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) e pacientes de um hospital – centro de referência em atenção hematológica na cidade de Salvador, Bahia, Brasil. Nos resultados apresenta-se a experiência de ruptura com base em três categorias (1) os significados da doença e a LMC como ameaça; (2) rupturas físicas, sociais e as experiências estigmatizantes; (3) a percepção de um “antes” e um “depois” da LMC, apontando para as mudanças no self, nas relações sociais e na vida cotidiana. Concluiu-se que os impactos biográficos, sociais e dos sistemas de saúde (considerando o custo das medicações) atualizam e ampliam questões como o acesso a tratamentos, assim como o enfrentamento do certo e do incerto, em que o “conhecido” da LMC encontra-se pouco acessível ao estoque de conhecimento da vida cotidiana.

This article examines the illness experiences of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), focusing on dimensions that link the onset of the disease as a biographical disruption. This qualitative study was based on analysis of narratives by six patients 23 to 62 years of age who were users of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) and patients at a referral hospital for hematological care in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil. The results reveal the experience of disruption in three categories: (1) the meanings of illness and CML as life-threatening, (2) physical and social disruption and stigmatizing experiences, and (3) the “before-and-after” perception of CML, focusing on changes in self, social relations, and daily life. The article concludes that the biographical, social, and health-system impacts (considering the cost of medication) update and extend issues such as access to treatment and confronting certainty and uncertainty, where patients struggle to draw on their everyday knowledge to deal with what is “known” about CML.

El artículo analiza las experiencias de padecimiento de pacientes con leucemia mieloide crónica (LMC), centrándose en las dimensiones que apuntan la llegada de la enfermedad como una ruptura biográfica. Este estudio cualitativo se basó en el análisis de narrativas de seis pacientes, con edades entre 23 y 62 años, usuarios del Sistema Único de Salud brasileño (SUS) y pacientes de un hospital –centro de referencia en atención hematológica en la ciudad de Salvador, Bahía, Brasil. Los resultados presentan la experiencia de ruptura a partir de tres categorías (1) los significados de la enfermedad y la LMC como amenaza; (2) rupturas físicas, sociales y experiencias estigmatizadoras (3) la percepción de un “antes” y un “después” de la LMC, apuntando los cambios en la autoestima, las relaciones sociales y la vida cotidiana. Se concluyó que los impactos biográficos, sociales y de los sistemas de salud (considerando costos de las medicaciones) actualizan y amplían temas como acceso a tratamientos, la confrontación de lo cierto y lo incierto, donde lo “conocido” de la LMC permanece inaccesible al conocimiento de la vida cotidiana.