Saúde e empoderamento das mulheres: estudo de caso do Programa Mais Médicos em municípios com presença de médicos cubanos

[RESUMO]. Objetivo. Descrever as representações de ser mulher das usuárias do Programa Mais Médicos (PMM), com perspectiva de gênero e raça, e as mudanças que o PMM trouxe quanto ao empoderamento e cuidado da saúde. Métodos. Trata-se de um estudo de caso descritivo, de corte transversal. O trabalho de campo foi realizado mediante entrevistas semiestruturadas, aplicação de uma técnica evocativa de associação de palavras e grupos focais em municípios com médicos cubanos, com amostras de tipo nominal para escolha dos municípios e de tipo intencional para a escolha de participantes. O tamanho das amostras foi definido em campo com base na técnica da saturação teórica. Os dados foram analisados por meio de análise de conteúdo e análise prototípica. Resultados. A cobertura da atenção básica foi fortalecida com os aportes do programa, segundo os quatro gestores entrevistados. As mulheres (103 na técnica evocativa e 120 nos grupos focais) relataram mudanças no modelo de atendimento, que se tornou mais humanizado, com impacto sobre sua percepção sobre os serviços de saúde, sobre a consulta médica, sobre os médicos e sobre a imagem de si mesmas e, em menor medida, sobre as práticas de cuidado da saúde. Conclusões. O PMM trouxe ganhos no empoderamento individual das mulheres, com reflexos potencialmente positivos para os comportamentos em saúde.

[ABSTRACT]. Objective. To describe the representations of being a woman by users of the More Doctors Program (Programa Mais Médicos, PMM) in Brazil, exploring the perspectives of gender and race, and the changes produced by PMM in terms of empowerment and health care. Methods. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. The field work was performed using semi-structured interviews, with application of an evocative word technique and focal groups in municipalities with Cuban physicians, with nominal selection of municipalities and intentional selection of participants. The size of the sample was defined in the field based on saturation. The data were analyzed by content and prototypical analyses. Results. Primary health care coverage was strengthened by the PMM, according to the four municipal health secretaries interviewed. Participants (103 in the evocative technique and 120 from focal groups) reported changes in the model of care, which became more humanized, with impact on their perception of health care services, medical consultations, and physicians, on the image they had of themselves and, to a lesser extent, on their health care practices. Conclusions. PMM produced individual empowerment gains for study participants, with potentially positive impacts on health care behaviors.

[RESUMEN]. Objetivo. Describir las representaciones de la condición de ser mujer hechas por las usuarias del programa Mais Médicos, con una perspectiva de género y raza, y los cambios producidos por este programa en materia de empoderamiento y cuidado de la salud. Métodos. Se trata de un estudio de caso descriptivo y transversal. El trabajo de campo se realizó mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas, con aplicación de una técnica evocadora de asociación de palabras y grupos focales en municipios con presencia de médicos cubanos, con muestras de tipo nominal para la selección de los municipios y de tipo intencional para la selección de las participantes. El tamaño de las muestras se definió sobre el terreno con base en la técnica de la saturación teórica. Los datos se sometieron a análisis prototípico y de contenido. Resultados. Los aportes del programa fortalecieron la cobertura de la atención básica, según lo expresado por los cuatro gestores entrevistados. Las mujeres (103 de las entrevistadas con la técnica evocadora y 120 de los grupos focales) relataron cambios en los modelos de atención que hicieron que la atención se torne más humanizada y que incidieron en su percepción de los servicios de salud, las consultas médicas, los médicos, la imagen de sí mismas y, en menor grado, las prácticas de cuidado de la salud. Conclusiones. El programa Mais Médicos implicó adelantos en materia de empoderamiento individual de las mujeres, con repercusiones potencialmente favorables en los patrones de comportamiento relacionados con la salud.

Saúde e empoderamento das mulheres: estudo de caso do Programa Mais Médicos em municípios com presença de médicos cubanos / Women's health and empowerment: a case study of the More Doctors Program in municipalities with Cuban physicians / Salud y empoderamiento de las mujeres: estudio de caso del programa Mais Médicos en municipios con presencia de médicos cubanos

Objetivo. Descrever as representações de ser mulher das usuárias do Programa Mais Médicos (PMM), com perspectiva de gênero e raça, e as mudanças que o PMM trouxe quanto ao empoderamento e cuidado da saúde. Métodos. Trata-se de um estudo de caso descritivo, de corte transversal. O trabalho de campo foi realizado mediante entrevistas semiestruturadas, aplicação de uma técnica evocativa de associação de palavras e grupos focais em municípios com médicos cubanos, com amostras de tipo nominal para escolha dos municípios e de tipo intencional para a escolha de participantes. O tamanho das amostras foi definido em campo com base na técnica da saturação teórica. Os dados foram analisados por meio de análise de conteúdo e análise prototípica. Resultados. A cobertura da atenção básica foi fortalecida com os aportes do programa, segundo os quatro gestores entrevistados. As mulheres (103 na técnica evocativa e 120 nos grupos focais) relataram mudanças no modelo de atendimento, que se tornou mais humanizado, com impacto sobre sua percepção sobre os serviços de saúde, sobre a consulta médica, sobre os médicos e sobre a imagem de si mesmas e, em menor medida, sobre as práticas de cuidado da saúde. Conclusões. O PMM trouxe ganhos no empoderamento individual das mulheres, com reflexos potencialmente positivos para os comportamentos em saúde.(AU)

Objective. To describe the representations of being a woman by users of the More Doctors Program (Programa Mais Médicos, PMM) in Brazil, exploring the perspectives of gender and race, and the changes produced by PMM in terms of empowerment and health care. Methods. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. The field work was performed using semi-structured interviews, with application of an evocative word technique and focal groups in municipalities with Cuban physicians, with nominal selection of municipalities and intentional selection of participants. The size of the sample was defined in the field based on saturation. The data were analyzed by content and prototypical analyses. Results. Primary health care coverage was strengthened by the PMM, according to the four municipal health secretaries interviewed. Participants (103 in the evocative technique and 120 from focal groups) reported changes in the model of care, which became more humanized, with impact on their perception of health care services, medical consultations, and physicians, on the image they had of themselves and, to a lesser extent, on their health care practices. Conclusions. PMM produced individual empowerment gains for study participants, with potentially positive impacts on health care behaviors.(AU)

Objetivo. Describir las representaciones de la condición de ser mujer hechas por las usuarias del programa Mais Médicos, con una perspectiva de género y raza, y los cambios producidos por este programa en materia de empoderamiento y cuidado de la salud. Métodos. Se trata de un estudio de caso descriptivo y transversal. El trabajo de campo se realizó mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas, con aplicación de una técnica evocadora de asociación de palabras y grupos focales en municipios con presencia de médicos cubanos, con muestras de tipo nominal para la selección de los municipios y de tipo intencional para la selección de las participantes. El tamaño de las muestras se definió sobre el terreno con base en la técnica de la saturación teórica. Los datos se sometieron a análisis prototípico y de contenido. Resultados. Los aportes del programa fortalecieron la cobertura de la atención básica, según lo expresado por los cuatro gestores entrevistados. Las mujeres (103 de las entrevistadas con la técnica evocadora y 120 de los grupos focales) relataron cambios en los modelos de atención que hicieron que la atención se torne más humanizada y que incidieron en su percepción de los servicios de salud, las consultas médicas, los médicos, la imagen de sí mismas y, en menor grado, las prácticas de cuidado de la salud. Conclusiones. El programa Mais Médicos implicó adelantos en materia de empoderamiento individual de las mujeres, con repercusiones potencialmente favorables en los patrones de comportamiento relacionados con la salud.(AU)

Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Assessment of the Hepatic and Bone Marrow Toxicities of the New Trypanoside Fexinidazole.

Fexinidazole is a novel oral treatment for human African trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (g-HAT). Fexinidazole also has activity against T. cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. During the course of a dose ranging assessment in patients with chronic indeterminate Chagas disease, delayed neutropenia and significant increases in hepatic transaminases were observed and clinical investigations were suspended. We retrospectively analyzed all available pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data on fexinidazole in normal healthy volunteers and in patients with Chagas disease and g-HAT to assess the determinants of toxicity. A population pharmacokinetic model was fitted to plasma concentrations (n = 4,549) of the bioactive fexinidazole sulfone metabolite, accounting for the majority of the bioactive exposure, from three phase 1 studies, two g-HAT phase 2/3 field trials, and one Chagas disease phase 2 field trial (n = 462 individuals in total). Bayesian exposure-response models were then fitted to hematological and liver-related pharmacodynamic outcomes in Chagas disease patients. Neutropenia, reductions in platelet counts, and elevations in liver transaminases were all found to be exposure dependent and, thus, dose dependent in patients with Chagas disease. Clinically insignificant transient reductions in neutrophil and platelet counts consistent with these exposure-response relationships were observed in patients with g-HAT. In contrast, no evidence of hepatotoxicity was observed in patients with g-HAT. Fexinidazole treatment results in a dose-dependent liver toxicity and transient bone marrow suppression in Chagas disease patients. Regimens of shorter duration should be evaluated in clinical trials with patients with Chagas disease. The currently recommended regimen for sleeping sickness provides exposures within a satisfactory safety margin for bone marrow suppression and does not cause hepatotoxicity.

Leave no one behind: response to new evidence and guidelines for the management of cryptococcal meningitis in low-income and middle-income countries.

In 2018, WHO issued guidelines for the diagnosis, prevention, and management of HIV-related cryptococcal disease. Two strategies are recommended to reduce the high mortality associated with HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs): optimised combination therapies for confirmed meningitis cases and cryptococcal antigen screening programmes for ambulatory people living with HIV who access care. WHO's preferred therapy for the treatment of HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis in LMICs is 1 week of amphotericin B plus flucytosine, and the alternative therapy is 2 weeks of fluconazole plus flucytosine. In the ACTA trial, 1-week (short course) amphotericin B plus flucytosine resulted in a 10-week mortality of 24% (95% CI -16 to 32) and 2 weeks of fluconazole and flucytosine resulted in a 10-week mortality of 35% (95% CI -29 to 41). However, with widely used fluconazole monotherapy, mortality because of HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis is approximately 70% in many African LMIC settings. Therefore, the potential to transform the management of HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis in resource-limited settings is substantial. Sustainable access to essential medicines, including flucytosine and amphotericin B, in LMICs is paramount and the focus of this Personal View.

Dried Blood Spot Technique-Based Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method as a Simple Alternative for Benznidazole Pharmacokinetic Assessment.

Chagas disease (CD) is recognized as one of the major neglected global tropical diseases. Benznidazole (BNZ) is the drug of choice for the treatment of adults, young infants, and newborns with CD. However, the pharmacokinetics (PK) of BNZ have been poorly evaluated in all age groups, with consequent gaps in knowledge about PK-pharmacodynamic relationships in CD. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a bioanalytical method to quantify BNZ levels in small-volume whole-blood samples collected as dried blood spots (DBS). The analysis was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography-positive electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. PK evaluation in healthy male volunteers was conducted to verify the correlation between DBS and plasma BNZ concentrations. The calibration curve was linear from 50 to 20,000 ng · ml-1 Intra- and interday precision and bias values were less than 14.87% (n = 9) and 9.81% (n = 27), respectively. The recovery rates ranged from 94 to 100% with no matrix effect. There was no hematocrit level effect in a range of 20 to 70%. The PK results obtained from DBS and plasma were comparable (r2 = 0.8295) and equivalent to previously published information on BNZ. BNZ in DBS was stable at room temperature for more than one year. This article describes the first microsampling method for measuring BNZ levels in DBS that has the potential to facilitate broad implementation of PK in clinical trials involving adult and pediatric patients in remote areas and helps to address existing knowledge gaps in the treatment of CD.

Space variability of phenological indicators of common bean crop / Variabilidade espacial dos índices fenológicos da cultura do feijão

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) has a representative agricultural holding, not only for the economic value of its production, but also for the large area of growing in Brazil. In the harvest 2016/17, this work was conducted in a Quartzarenic Neosol in the municipality of Cassilândia, MS. The objective of this work was to characterize the structure and magnitude of the spatial distribution of phenological indices of the common bean crop and to map the phenological indices in order to visualize the spatial distribution and to evaluate the spatial correlation among common bean yield and plant variables: grain yield (YIE), mass of one hundred grains (MHG), number of grains per plant (NG), number of grains per pod (NGP), number of pods per plant (NP), dry matter (DM), plant length (PL) and stem diameter (SD), sampled in a grid of 117 georeferenced points (81 points of base grid and 36 points of higher density grid). Analysis of these data through statistical and geostatistical techniques made it possible to verify that the production and yield components presented spatial dependence. There was a positive spatial correlation among common bean yield and the mass of one hundred grains, number of grains per pod and plant length, demonstrating that they have a strong spatial dependence.

A cultura do feijoeiro (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) tem representativa exploração agrícola, não só pelo valor econômico de sua produção, como também pela grande área de cultivo no Brasil. No ano agrícola de 2016/17, este trabalho foi conduzido em um Neossolo Quartzarênico no município de Cassilândia, MS. O trabalho objetivou caracterizar a estrutura e a magnitude da distribuição espacial de índices fenológicos da planta em lavoura de feijão e realizar o mapeamento desses índices fenológicos, de forma a visualizar a distribuição espacial, e avaliar a correlação espacial existente entre a produtividade do feijoeiro e as variáveis da planta: produtividade de grãos (PG), massa de cem grãos (MC), número de grãos por uma planta (GP), número de grãos por uma vagem (GV), número de vagem por uma planta (VP), massa seca de uma planta (MS), comprimento da planta (CO), diâmetro do colmo (DC), amostrados em uma malha de 117 pontos georreferenciados (81 pontos da malha base e 36 pontos de malha com maior densidade). A análise destes dados por meio das técnicas estatísticas e da geoestatística possibilitaram constatar que os componentes de produção e produtividade do feijão apresentaram dependência espacial. Houve destaque na correlação espacial positiva entre a produtividade do feijoeiro e a massa de cem grãos, grãos por vagem e comprimento da planta, demonstrando que as mesmas possuem uma dependência espacial forte.

Physical activity interventions in Latin America: what value might be added by including conference abstracts in a literature review?

BACKGROUND: This review assessed whether conference abstracts yield useful information on the types and effectiveness of community-based physical activity (PA) interventions in Latin America, beyond that from interventions included in a recent systematic review of peer-reviewed literature. METHODS: Abstracts from 9 conferences were searched for community-based interventions to promote PA in Latin America and summarized. Three reviewers classified and screened abstracts. Evaluated interventions that were not included in the previous review were assessed. RESULTS: Search of abstracts from 31 proceedings of 9 conferences identified 87 abstracts of studies on community-based interventions focused on increasing PA. Only 31 abstracts reported on studies with a control group and an outcome related to PA. Ten of these abstracts represented interventions that had not been included in the previous review of peer-reviewed literature, but the abstracts were insufficient in number or detail to make a practice recommendation for any single intervention. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlighted the challenges and low added value of including conference abstracts in a systematic review of community PA interventions in Latin America. Stronger evaluation design and execution and more published reports of evaluated interventions are needed to build an evidence base supporting interventions to increase PA in Latin America.

In vitro and in vivo experimental models for drug screening and development for Chagas disease.

Chagas disease, a neglected illness, affects nearly 12-14 million people in endemic areas of Latin America. Although the occurrence of acute cases sharply has declined due to Southern Cone Initiative efforts to control vector transmission, there still remain serious challenges, including the maintenance of sustainable public policies for Chagas disease control and the urgent need for better drugs to treat chagasic patients. Since the introduction of benznidazole and nifurtimox approximately 40 years ago, many natural and synthetic compounds have been assayed against Trypanosoma cruzi, yet only a few compounds have advanced to clinical trials. This reflects, at least in part, the lack of consensus regarding appropriate in vitro and in vivo screening protocols as well as the lack of biomarkers for treating parasitaemia. The development of more effective drugs requires (i) the identification and validation of parasite targets, (ii) compounds to be screened against the targets or the whole parasite and (iii) a panel of minimum standardised procedures to advance leading compounds to clinical trials. This third aim was the topic of the workshop entitled Experimental Models in Drug Screening and Development for Chagas Disease, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the 25th and 26th of November 2008 by the Fiocruz Program for Research and Technological Development on Chagas Disease and Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative. During the meeting, the minimum steps, requirements and decision gates for the determination of the efficacy of novel drugs for T. cruzi control were evaluated by interdisciplinary experts and an in vitro and in vivo flowchart was designed to serve as a general and standardised protocol for screening potential drugs for the treatment of Chagas disease.

In vitro and in vivo experimental models for drug screening and development for Chagas disease

Chagas disease, a neglected illness, affects nearly 12-14 million people in endemic areas of Latin America. Although the occurrence of acute cases sharply has declined due to Southern Cone Initiative efforts to control vector transmission, there still remain serious challenges, including the maintenance of sustainable public policies for Chagas disease control and the urgent need for better drugs to treat chagasic patients. Since the introduction of benznidazole and nifurtimox approximately 40 years ago, many natural and synthetic compounds have been assayed against Trypanosoma cruzi, yet only a few compounds have advanced to clinical trials. This reflects, at least in part, the lack of consensus regarding appropriate in vitro and in vivo screening protocols as well as the lack of biomarkers for treating parasitaemia. The development of more effective drugs requires (i) the identification and validation of parasite targets, (ii) compounds to be screened against the targets or the whole parasite and (iii) a panel of minimum standardised procedures to advance leading compounds to clinical trials. This third aim was the topic of the workshop entitled Experimental Models in Drug Screening and Development for Chagas Disease, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the 25th and 26th of November 2008 by the Fiocruz Program for Research and Technological Development on Chagas Disease and Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative. During the meeting, the minimum steps, requirements and decision gates for the determination of the efficacy of novel drugs for T. cruzi control were evaluated by interdisciplinary experts and an in vitro and in vivo flowchart was designed to serve as a general and standardised protocol for screening potential drugs for the treatment of Chagas disease.