A proposal to evaluate the management of tuberculosis programs: a qualitative, evaluability assessment in the border region of Brazil and Venezuela.

This study aims to analyze the feasibility of building an evaluative model for the management of the Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Program in the State of Roraima, located on the border between Brazil and Venezuela. This is an evaluability assessment, a type of study used as a pre-evaluation of the development and implementation stages of a program, as well as throughout its execution. The study was developed in stages comprising the: (i) definition of the intervention to be analyzed and its objectives and goals; (ii) construction of the intervention logical model; (iii) screening of parties interested in the evaluation; (iv) definition of the evaluative questions; and (v) design of the evaluation matrix. Four priority components were defined for the evaluation: management of the organization and implementation of tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control policy; epidemiological surveillance management; care network management; and management of expected/achieved results. In this model, and based on theoretical references, we defined the necessary resources, activities, outputs, outcomes, and the expected impact for each of the policy management components. The management of the TB control program is feasible for evaluation based on the design of its components, the definition of structure and process indicators, and relevant results for the analysis of the management of TB prevention and control actions, as well as its influence on compliance with the agreed indicators and targets aiming at eradicating the disease by 2035.

Health condition, income loss, food insecurity and other social inequities among migrants and refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Brazil is the destination of many international migrants and refugees and, given the circumstances of their entry into the country, many face difficulties due to the absence of targeted policies. Thus, the objective of this study was to survey the social impact of COVID-19 on international migrants and refugees regarding income loss, food insecurity and other social inequities, and to identify explanatory factors on these aspects. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, analytical study. We used a validated instrument applied by trained interviewers. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression were performed to identify factors associated with income loss and food insecurity. RESULTS: A total of 360 individuals from sub-Saharan African and South American countries participated in the study. Individuals who were white, black/brown, yellow, had an occupation/employment, and earned less than one minimum wage were more likely to lose income. Those who reported no income, received less than one minimum wage, and were diagnosed with COVID-19 were more likely to be food insecure. CONCLUSIONS: The study advances knowledge by identifying factors associated with income loss, food insecurity, and individuals' difficulty in accessing health services and social support measures in Brazil.

Qualidade da Atenção Primária à Saúde na pandemia de COVID-19: avaliação por usuários acometidos pela doença / Quality of Primary Health Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evaluation by Users Affected by the Disease

A pandemia da doença pelo coronavírus impacta sobremaneira a sociedade, gerando desafios sem precedentes para a ciência, para os sistemas de saúde e para a Atenção Primária à Saúde, que foram rapidamente cobrados por respostas diversificadas para o enfrentamento desta emergência de saúde pública. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a qualidade da APS segundo a perspectiva de pessoas acometidas pela COVID-19. Tratou-se de um estudo transversal com casos de COVID-19 em um município brasileiro. Utilizou-se um questionário eletrônico com características sociodemográficas e clínicas (de elaboração própria) e o Instrumento PCATool-Brasil ­ para pacientes adultos (versão reduzida), por meio do recurso KoBoToolbox. Após pré-teste e estudo piloto, a coleta de dados ocorreu entre 11 de janeiro e 05 de outubro de 2021. Utilizou-se estatística descritiva, sendo calculado o Escore Geral da APS ­ 0 a 10 (média e desvios padrão). Os 91 participantes avaliaram os atributos/componentes da APS. O Escore Geral da APS (média) foi 4,4 (DP=1,9). Este baixo escore geral da APS obtido sinaliza para fragilidades na qualidade deste nível de atenção à saúde, nos primeiros seis meses da pandemia em 2020. É inédito escore tão baixo de qualidade da APS. Depreende-se que o resultado negativo no município estudado reflete o impacto da COVID-19 e as estratégias adotadas para o enfrentamento da pandemia disparada pelo SARS-CoV-2 no Brasil e no mundo.

The coronavirus disease pandemic greatly impacted society, creating unprecedented challenges for science, healthcare systems, and Primary Health Care, which were quickly charged with diversified responses to face this public health emergency. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of PHC from the perspective of people affected by COVID-19. This was a cross-sectional study with cases of COVID-19 in a Brazilian municipality. We used an electronic questionnaire with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics (of our own elaboration) and the PCATool-Brazil Instrument ­ for adult patients (reduced version), through the KoBoToolbox resource. After a pre-test and pilot study, data collection took place between January 11 and October 5, 2021. Descriptive statistics were used, calculating the General PHC Score ­ 0 to 10 (mean and standard deviations). 91 participants evaluated the PHC characteristics/ components. The overall PHC score (mean) was 4.4 (SD=1.9). This low overall PHC score obtained indicates weaknesses in the quality of this level of healthcare, in the first six months of the pandemic in 2020. Such a low PHC quality score is unprecedented. It appears that the negative result in the studied municipality reflects the impact of COVID-19 and the strategies adopted to face the pandemic triggered by SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil and in the world.