Participatory Surveillance Based on Crowdsourcing During the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Using the Guardians of Health Platform: Descriptive Study.

BACKGROUND: With the evolution of digital media, areas such as public health are adding new platforms to complement traditional systems of epidemiological surveillance. Participatory surveillance and digital epidemiology have become innovative tools for the construction of epidemiological landscapes with citizens' participation, improving traditional sources of information. Strategies such as these promote the timely detection of warning signs for outbreaks and epidemics in the region. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to describe the participatory surveillance platform Guardians of Health, which was used in a project conducted during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and officially used by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the monitoring of outbreaks and epidemics. METHODS: This is a descriptive study carried out using secondary data from Guardians of Health available in a public digital repository. Based on syndromic signals, the information subsidy for decision making by policy makers and health managers becomes more dynamic and assertive. This type of information source can be used as an early route to understand the epidemiological scenario. RESULTS: The main result of this research was demonstrating the use of the participatory surveillance platform as an additional source of information for the epidemiological surveillance performed in Brazil during a mass gathering. The platform Guardians of Health had 7848 users who generated 12,746 reports about their health status. Among these reports, the following were identified: 161 users with diarrheal syndrome, 68 users with respiratory syndrome, and 145 users with rash syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: It is hoped that epidemiological surveillance professionals, researchers, managers, and workers become aware of, and allow themselves to use, new tools that improve information management for decision making and knowledge production. This way, we may follow the path for a more intelligent, efficient, and pragmatic disease control system.

Health promotion initiatives at school related to overweight, insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidemia in adolescents: a cross-sectional study in Recife, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of diseases such as dyslipidemia, systemic arterial hypertension, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents has brought about a change in the epidemiologic profile of the pediatric population. As action to promote health in the school environment is a useful tool for changing the pattern of health/disease in the young population, the present study aimed to identify schools that promote healthy eating and physical activity and to study the relationship between these practices and the prevalence of overweight, hypertension, insulin resistance and hypercholesterolemia in adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted with 2400 adolescents aged from 12 to 17 years old and participating in the "Study of Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents" (ERICA - Estudo de Riscos Cardiovasculares em Adolescente). The association between dependent (overweight, insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidemia) and independent variables (implementation of health promoting initiative in schools) was investigated using the chi-square test and prevalence ratio (PR) with a confidence index (CI) of 95%. RESULTS: The unsatisfactory implementation of a "health promoting environment" (PR = 1.02; CI 95%: 1.0; 1.04) and "partnerships with the health sector" (PR = 1.03; CI 95%: 1.01; 1.05) were linked to a high prevalence of overweight in adolescents. Hypercholesterolemia was found to be higher in the schools with unsatisfactory implementation of "healthy eating and health on the scholar curriculum" (PR = 1.71; CI 95%: 1.22; 2.44) and those lacking a "healthy-eating promoting environment" (PR = 1.29; CI 95%: 1.10; 1.54). Schools with unsatisfactory implementation of a "health-eating promoting environment" (PR = 1.36; CI 95%: 1.04; 1.79) and those lacking "partnership with the health sector" (PR = 2.12; CI 95%: 1.38; 3.24) had more adolescents with insulin resistance. There was no association between hypertension and any other component studied. CONCLUSION: Schools which have implemented adequate health promotion in their curriculums showed a lower prevalence of overweight, insulin resistance and hypercholesterolemia in adolescents.

The impact of an intervention to improve diabetes management in primary healthcare professionals' practices in Brazil.

AIMS: To evaluate the results of a structured intervention in primary healthcare to improve type 2 diabetes management. METHODS: The intervention was implemented in 2011-2012 in two cities in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, and evaluated in 2013 by interviewing healthcare professionals about their practices in all primary care facilities of these two cities (intervention group), and of two paired control cities (control group). Comparisons between the intervention and control groups were made using standard parametric tests. RESULTS: The percentage of professionals who measured adherence to treatment, developed educational actions to control high-risk situations or prevent complications, or declared that they "explained" the disease to the patients, was higher in the control group (p<0.05). Multidisciplinary involvement, requests for electrocardiograms and referrals to specialists were also more frequent in the control group (p<0.01). The only differences favoring the intervention group were the higher proportion of nurses (p<0.05) and community health workers (p<0.01) trained for diabetes management and a greater frequency of discussing the cases of diabetic patients at team meetings (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These negative results raise questions about the effectiveness of actions aiming to improve diabetes management in primary care, and reinforce the need for careful evaluation of their impact.

Avaliação do desempenho estadual da vigilância em saúde de Pernambuco Abstract / Performance evaluation of the state health surveillance in Pernambuco State, Brazil

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o desempenho estadual da vigilância em saúde em Pernambuco no ano de 2012. Realizou-se pesquisa avaliativa com base no modelo multidimensional de avaliação global e integral do desempenho dos sistemas de saúde - EGIPSS. Foi elaborado o modelo lógico da vigilância em saúde estadual, adaptado o modelo multidimensional de avaliação e concebida a matriz de análise e julgamento. Utilizaram-se dados primários, coletados por meio de entrevistas com informantes-chave, e secundários, dos sistemas de informação da vigilância em saúde e de documentos oficiais. O desempenho estadual da vigilância em saúde em Pernambuco mostrou-se satisfatório (64,0%). A função "manutenção de valores" apresentou escore excelente (85,0%), seguida das funções "adaptação" (70,0%) e "produção" (60,0%), ambas com desempenho satisfatório. A função "alcance das metas" apresentou escore insatisfatório (41,0%) devido, em parte, ao conjunto de fragilidades encontradas nas demais funções. A avaliação do desempenho da vigilância em saúde estadual, utilizando o modelo integral, mostrou ser uma estratégia apropriada para identificação das fortalezas e fragilidades em diversas dimensões do desempenho, proporcionando os meios para melhor compreendê-lo e instituir estratégias de melhoria.

This article aimed to evaluate the performance of Health Surveillance in Pernambuco in the year of 2012. An evaluative research based on the multidimensional model for comprehensive and global evaluation of health systems performance was conducted. The logic model of state health surveillance, adapted to the multidimensional evaluation model, and conceived as a judgement and analysis matrix was created. Primary data, collected through interviews with key informants, and secondary data, from health surveillance information systems and official documents, were used. The performance of health surveillance in Pernambuco was satisfactory (64.0%). The value "maintenance function" scored excellent (85.0%) followed by "adaptation" (70.0%) and "production" (60.0%) functions, both with satisfactory performance. The "achieving goals" function scored unsatisfactory (41.0%), due, in part, to the set of weaknesses found in the other functions. The performance evaluation of the state health surveillance, using the integral model, turned out to be an appropriate strategy to the identification of strengths and weaknesses in various performance dimensions, providing the means to better understand it and to establish improvement strategies.