Speeches of managers about the policy of the directly observed treatment for tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the managers' speeches about the policy transfer of the directly observed treatment (DOT) for tuberculosis control in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. METHOD: this is a qualitative study developed in May and June, 2013 through semi-directed interviews with twenty health professionals in five health districts in João Pessoa/PB. The empirical material produced was analyzed according to the theoretical-analytical basis of the French Discourse Analysis by Pêcheux. RESULTS: the study demonstrated weaknesses in the conduction and organization of actions in relation to the DOT. It revealed that the lack of knowledge of the managers about this policy has direct implications to the care of tuberculosis patients. CONCLUSION: the management should trace strategic plans to rethink the care practices and thus, reorganize the entire care network to users in order to effectively contribute to user adherence in the fight against tuberculosis.

Gateway to the diagnosis of tuberculosis among elders in Brazilian municipalities.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the factors associated with the gateway of the health systems of Brazilian municipalities for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in older people. METHOD: survey study type, with a sample of 91 elders, in a population with 706 cases of tuberculosis. Data were collected by means of an instrument based on the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) adapted for tuberculosis care, emphasizing the gateway variable. Variables were categorized and compared between primary health care (PHC) and specialized care (SC) services. Bivariate analysis and the Chi-square association test were used. RESULTS: a statistically significant association (p = 0.0001) was found between the fi rst health service sought and the unit that diagnosed tuberculosis, showing better performance of specialized care services in the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: it is necessary to improve primary health care services to tackle delayed diagnosis of tuberculosis in older people.

[Matrix support work: difficulties in the scope of basic healthcare]. / Trabalho do apoiador matricial: dificuldades no âmbito da atenção básica em saúde.

Qualitative research under the analysis of contents, thematic modality, aimed to identify the difficulties lived by the matricial supporter in its practice in the Primary Health Care. The scenery of the study were six units of family health located in one of the five Sanitary Districts of João Pessoa-PB. The data collection was performed from August to September 2010, through semi directed interviews, in which ten professionals who worked as matricial supporters participated. According to the speeches the difficulties faced relate to the ignorance of some professionals of the health team toward the function of the matricial supporter in the Basic Health Attention; lack of autonomy and administrative overload. In this sense, it is suggested that a process of reflection about the work of the matricial supporter with the health team aiming to acknowledge which contribution of this professional in the reorganization of the work of the team of basic attention.

Discomfort and unease of the subject in the interpretation movement of a Tuberculosis questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: to propose a discussion about traces of the derivation of meanings, the subjects' discomfort and resistance when they are called upon to signify a questionnaire on the transfer of the Directly Observed Treatment of Tuberculosis policy, in order to reveal the limitations of closed questionnaires in the subject's interpretation process. METHOD: health professionals from a Primary Health Care Unit in Porto Alegre/RS were interviewed and some excerpts from the interviews were investigated in the light of French Discourse Analysis. RESULTS: resistance, discomfort, slips, silencing and the derivation of meanings were observed in the subjects' interpretation. CONCLUSION: the interpretation process has multiple meanings and varies from subject to subject. The questionnaire, as a prototype of the logically stabilized universe, fails when the purpose is to control the interpretation. Its isolated use in health research can entail inexactness or incompleteness of the collected data. Therefore, its use associated with qualitative research techniques is ideal.

[The discourse of health managers on aspects related to the delay in tuberculosis diagnosis]. / A discursividade de gestores sobre aspectos relacionados ao retardo do diagnóstico de tuberculose.

The aim of this study was to analyze the discourse of health managers on aspects related to delay in tuberculosis diagnosis. This was a qualitative research study, conducted with 16 Family Health Unit managers. The empirical data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. The analysis was based on the theoretical framework of the French school of discourse analysis. According to the managers' statements, the delay in tuberculosis diagnosis is related to patient and health service aspects. As for patient aspects, managers report fear, prejudice and lack of information as factors that may promote a delayed diagnosis. Regarding health service aspects, structural problems and lack of professional skills were reported. The discourse of managers should be considered to qualify tuberculosis control actions and to prevent delays in diagnosis.

Early diagnosis of tuberculosis in the health services in different regions of Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the infected person's first contact with the health services, for the early diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in different regions of Brazil. METHOD: a cross-sectional study undertaken in 6 municipalities in the South-east, South and North-east regions of Brazil. Data collection involved secondary sources and interviews with the patients. The data was analyzed using descriptive techniques and multiple correspondence factor analysis. RESULTS: Primary Health Care (PHC) presented the longest time to diagnosis and the lowest proportion of diagnoses. The services associated with diagnosis in the first consultation were the specialized services and the Tuberculosis Control Programs, which offer consultations and tests on-site. CONCLUSION: For the control of TB, it is necessary to organize the work in an integrated way between the different services' teams. In Primary Health Care, it is also necessary to observe the extent of incorporation and sustainability in the implementation of these actions into the health services' daily practice.

[Tuberculosis diagnosis in the aged: barriers to accessing health services]. / Diagnóstico da tuberculose em pessoas idosas: barreiras de acesso relacionadas aos serviços de saúde.

This study was performed with the objective to analyze the barriers to diagnosing tuberculosis in the aged and access to health services in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. This qualitative study included the participation of seven aged women with tuberculosis. Interviews were used for data collection. The empirical material was organized using Atlas.ti 6.0, and analyzed according to the techniques of discourse analysis. The identified barriers related to the access to health services to confirm the diagnosis were: the operating hours of family health units; transferred responsibilities; home visits without controlling communicants; delay of the health service in suspecting the disease and the patient's repeated visits to the health center before being informed about the diagnosis. Despite the identification of common barriers that tuberculosis patients of all ages must deal with, because of the vulnerability of the elderly, health services should implement control actions so as to prevent the disease becoming a common condition in this population.

[Care management for tuberculosis: from education to the nurse practice]. / Gestão do cuidado à tuberculose: da formação à prática do enfermeiro.

The study aimed to analyze the relation between the training of the nurse and the actions directed to the management of the care to the tuberculosis. With qualitative nature, it was performed in one of the cities of the metropolitan region of João Pessoa-PB. The subjects were ten nurses of the Health Family Strategy. The data collection was performed in February 2010 using a semi structured interview script. To examine the empiric material it was used the technique of content analyzes. In the testimonies of the nurses there was predominance of the thematic TB in the hospital space; they approach either the superficiality and the distance of the care to TB related to the relation between the theory and the practice, and the absence of direct care to the patient of TB during training; according to them, the organization of the services points to a mechanicist and task based practice. One concluded that there is necessity of training institutions to come close to the health services, in a dialogic relation, to organize better the learning spaces.

[Organization of health services and tuberculosis care management]. / Organização dos serviços de saúde e a gestão do cuidado à tuberculose.

The scope of this study was to analyze the discourse of managers regarding the relationship between the organization of the health services and tuberculosis care management in a city in the metropolitan region of João Pessoa, State of Pernambuco. Using qualitative research in the analytical field of the French line of Discourse Analysis, 16 health workers who worked as members of the management teams took part in the study. The transcribed testimonials were organized using Atlas.ti version 6.0 software. After detailed reading of the empirical material, an attempt was made to identify the paraphrasic, polyssemic and metaphoric processes in the discourses, which enabled identification of the following discourse formation: Organization of the health services and the relation with TB care management: theory and practice. In the discourse of the managers the fragmentation of the actions of control of tuberculosis, the lack of articulation between the services and sectors, the compliance of the specific activities for TB, as well as the lack of strategic planning for management of care of the disease are clearly revealed. In this respect, for the organization of the health services to be effective, it is necessary that tuberculosis be considered a priority and acknowledged as a social problem in the management agenda.

[Caring for tuberculosis patients in the Family Health Strategy: the nurses' perceptions]. / Cuidado ao doente de tuberculose na Estratégia Saúde da Família: percepções de enfermeiras.

The objective of this study was to analyze the nurses' perceptions regarding tuberculosis control, according to the theoretical axis of comprehensive healthcare and the concepts of attachment and teamwork. This qualitative study involved 13 nurses from the Family Health Strategy of a priority city in the metropolitan region of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. Data were collected in focal groups and subjected to thematic content analysis. Factors that strengthen tuberculosis control were: supervised treatment, free medication and the provision of supplies. Weakening factors were: worker's turnover, the lack of encouragement for patients and incipient educational actions. The factors that, according to the nurses, weaken tuberculosis patient care should be reviewed by administrators, workers, users and educators with a view to redefining healthcare activities that strengthen attachment, comprehensive healthcare and teamwork.

Spatial distribution of tuberculosis and relationship with living conditions in an urban area of Campina Grande--2004 to 2007.

This research aimed to study the spatial distribution of tuberculosis and its relationship with living conditions in the urban area of the city of Campina Grande in the period from 2004 until 2007. It is an ecologic study which used the city's neighborhood distribution; demographic, social and economic data from year 2000 census; and the new cases of tuberculosis reported to the Disease and Reporting Information System. Georeferencing was done for the cases of tuberculosis, and disease incidence was calculated by neighborhood. Rates were softened and the Global Moran Index was calculated. Social-economic data were grouped in quartiles according to the Life Condition Index, calculating the incidence of TB in each stratum of living conditions. The results showed that the spatial distribution of tuberculosis in the city is not uniform. Grouping neighborhoods according to the Life Conditions Index revealed social differences that can justify the occurrence of higher incidence rates in the most socially and economically vulnerable regions. The best living condition stratum presented a high incidence possibly due to the underreporting of the cases of tuberculosis caused mainly by the centralization of disease control services. We hope that this study may help outline control strategies for the city of Campina Grande, from the perspective of health promotion, for a disease so socially determined, as is the case of TB.

[Implementation of the DOTS strategy in the control of TB in Paraiba: between the political commitment and the involvement of the teams of the family health program (1999-2004)]. / Implantação da estratégia DOTS no controle da Tuberculose na Paraíba: entre o compromisso político e o envolvimento das equipes do programa saúde da família (1999-2004).

The scope of this paper is to analyze the implementation of the Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOTS) strategy in the control of tuberculosis, from the standpoint of the coordinators of the Tuberculosis Control Program (TCP) in six priority municipalities in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven TCP coordinators. Five municipalities proved to be DOTS success points achieving a 90% cure rate. Among the DOTS weak points in the political dimension, the following aspects were identified: lack of continuity of the TCP coordinator position; lack of preparedness of the local team; precarious technical-administration structure and insufficiency of the laboratory network. In the operational dimension, the search for respiratory symptoms by the Family Health Teams is still low. Changes of an epidemiological, operational and political nature have been incorporated, though the implementation and guarantee of the sustainability of DOTS in the State depends on the way the health services are organized and on the manager's political commitment to support the strategy.

Family focus and community orientation in tuberculosis control.

This study aimed to describe tuberculosis control actions in the context of Family Health Teams, regarding the dimensions family focus and community orientation. A cross-sectional evaluative research was carried out in 2008, with 84 healthcare workers. The Primary Care Assessment Tool was used, validated and adapted to assess tuberculosis care in Brazil. Respondents answered each question according to a pre-determined scale, (Likert's scale) ranging from zero to five. Data were tabulated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software and were analyzed according to frequency and median. In the first dimension, outcomes revealed that 67.9% of health workers evaluate contact cases with diagnostic tests; 63.1% use radiology tests; 64.3% include the household to face the disease; 77.4% identify risk factors; 41.7% interface with other sectors to find solutions for the identified problems. In the second dimension, 73.8% of them perform case search; 40.5% provide inputs for sputum collection; 50% take educational actions in the community; 14.3% recognize social participation in tuberculosis control. Therefore, the efficiency of such services requires taking actions that give special attention to family and community, and the development of skills to create new spaces for professionals to act and to strengthen the interface with other sectors of society.

Intersectorality and bonding in tuberculosis control in Family Health.

This is a qualitative study which aims to analyze the performance of the Family Health teams in the control of tuberculosis according to the relationship between bonding and the development of intersectoral actions in the metropolitan region of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. To construct the empirical material focus group techniques were used. Seven focus groups were conducted, involving 37 professionals of the Family Health teams. For analysis, the discourse analysis technique was used. It was concluded that the lack of intersectoral action weakens the bond between tuberculosis patients, their families and the Family Health team. It is noteworthy that intersectoral measures are fundamental in the development of integral care for tuberculosis patients in the context of Primary Health Care.

[Work process of the nurse who works in child care in family health units]. / Processo de trabalho da enfermeira que atua em puericultura nas unidades de saúde da família.

This is a qualitative research, which purpose was to analyse the working process of nurse in child care actions in family health units. Nurses are the subjects and empirical data was achieved by the means of participant observation, and interviews. Data analysis followed thematic analysis fundaments. Results reveal that working process organization of nurses still remains centered in proceedings with an offert of assistance based in client illness, showing obstacles to puericulture practice in health basic attention.

Tuberculosis control: decentralization, local planning and management specificities.

The goal was to analyze, according to the perception of health managers, the practices that guide tuberculosis control actions in cities in the metropolitan region of João Pessoa - PB, Brazil. This qualitative study involved eight professionals in management functions. Testimonies were collected through semi-structured interviews between May and June 2009 and organized through content analysis. Despite the acknowledged benefits of tuberculosis control action decentralization, local planning indicates the predominance of a bureaucratic model that is restricted to negotiation and supplies. Local programming is centered on the coordinator, which shows a command line and vertical management that lead to the fragmentation of the work process. Management action should follow an innovative and transformative route that surpasses bureaucratic barriers and faces the biggest challenge it is proposed: to balance professional interrelations with a view to improving health work performance.

[Managing the basic health unit in tuberculosis control: a field of challenges]. / A gerência da Unidade Básica de Saúde no controle da tuberculose: um campo de desafios.

In this study we analyzed the management of Basic Health Units in terms of Tuberculosis (TB) control in a city in the interior of São Paulo state. Fourteen managers participated in the study. A closed questionnaire was administered and an open question was also applied. The interview was carried out after obtaining free and informed consent. Data analysis was performed using the Statsoft software Statistica 8.0 and thematic content analysis was used for the qualitative data. It was found there is a clear technical-bureaucratic management, deficient in the activity planning and organization dimensions at the BHU. Hence, health care managers in this study should include management aspects of planning and organization as ways to make TB control feasible.

[Tuberculosis treatment drop out and relations of bonding to the family health team]. / Abandono do tratamento de tuberculose e relações de vínculo com a equipe de saúde da família.

This study aimed to analyze the relation between the singularities of the sick subject with the history of dropping out of the tuberculosis treatment and the care given by the family health team in light of the bonding concept. The empirical material was built through recorded interviews, in the period from July to September of 2008, using the Thematic Oral History methodology. Interviews were taken with nine users whose drop out was the criteria for closing the treatment to tuberculosis in two municipalities of the metropolitan region of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. The analysis was performed according to the discourse analysis technique. The study identified that a therapeutic relation, sharing commitments and the user's valuation, strengthens the bonding and produces the care management democratization. On the other hand, a vertical relation, with fragile bonding, is opposed to the purpose of an intersubjective practice in the perspective of the care co-management.

The active search for respiratory symptomatics for the control of tuberculosis in the Potiguara Indigenous Scenario, Paraiba, Brazil.

This study sought to analyze the actions of an active search for respiratory symptomatics (RSs) in the control of tuberculosis (TB) in the Potiguara Special Indigenous Sanitary District, Paraiba, Brazil, between May and June 2007. After approval by the Research Ethics Committee, 23 professionals were grouped, including physicians, nurses, nurse technicians and indigenous health agents. The focus group technique was used as an instrument for data collection, based on the discourse analysis technique. Weaknesses of an operational nature that became apparent, related to the organization of local health service for the implementation of routines for diagnosing TB: absence of a systematic routine for searching for RSs, difficulties in organizing the material for bacteriological examination, inadequate approach to patient during sputum collection and inadequate professional training. It is deemed necessary to improve the organization of services for early detection of TB cases in the local indigenous scenario.

[The concepts of bonding and the relation with tuberculosis control]. / As concepções de vínculo e a relação com o controle da tuberculose.

This study analyzed the concepts of bonding that guide the practice of Family Health Program (FHP) teams in terms of tuberculosis (TB) control measures in the public health setting, in the city of Bayeux, Paraiba, Brazil. Using a qualitative approach, the study involved 37 health care professionals. Data collection took place using the focal group technique, in April 2007. Data analysis was performed based on discourse analysis. It was observed that FHP team concepts about attachment were in agreement with the studied theoretical concepts, with evidences of trust, commitment, intimacy, and responsibility in the team/patient relationship. The following aspects strengthen the bond: the time that FHP teams work in the community; the number of home visits and consultations and the involvement with TB control. Bond weaknesses: insufficient intersectorial measures, the patient's socioeconomic situation, and family abandonment. It is emphasized that there is a need for changes that would strengthen the relationship between the FHP team/patient. This way there would be a concrete care founded on the integrality of health care service routine.