Programs providing cash transfers to poor families, conditioned upon uptake of preventive health services, are common in Latin America. Because of the consistent association between undernutrition and poverty, and the role of health services in providing growth promotion, these programs are supposed to improve children's growth. The impact of such a program was assessed in 4 municipalities in northeast Brazil by comparing 1387 children under 7 y of age from program beneficiary households with 502 matched nonbeneficiaries who were selected to receive the program but who subsequently were excluded as a result of quasi-random administrative errors. Anthropometric status was assessed 6 mo after benefits began to be distributed, and beneficiary children were 0.13 Z-scores lighter (weight-for-age) than excluded children, after adjusting for confounders (P = 0.024). The children's growth trajectories were reconstructed by copying up to 10 recorded weights from their Ministry of Health growth monitoring cards and by relating each weight to the child's age, gender, and duration of receipt of the program benefit in a random effects regression model. Totals of 472 beneficiary and 158 excluded children under 3 y of age were included in this analysis. Each additional month of exposure to the program was associated with a rate of weight gain 31 g lower than that observed in excluded children of the same age (P < 0.001). This failure to respond positively to the program may have been due to a perception that benefits would be discontinued if the child started to grow well. Nutrition programs should guard against giving the impression that poor growth will be rewarded.

BackgroundIn Brazilian private hospitals, caesarean section (CS) is almost universal (88%) and is integrated into the model of birth care. A quality improvement intervention, “Adequate Birth” (PPA), based on four driving components (governance, participation of women and families, reorganisation of care, and monitoring), has been implemented to help 23 hospitals reduce their CS rate. This is a protocol designed to evaluate the implementation of PPA and its effectiveness at reducing CS as a primary outcome of birth care.MethodsCase study of PPA intervention conducted in 2017/2018. We integrated quantitative and qualitative methods into data collection and analysis. For the quantitative stage, we selected a convenient sample of twelve hospitals. In each of these hospitals, we included 400 women. This resulted in a total sample of 4800 women. We used this sample to detect a 2.5% reduction in CS rate. We interviewed managers and puerperal women, and extracted data from hospital records. In the qualitative stage, we evaluated a subsample of eight hospitals by means of systematic observation and semi-structured interviews with managers, health professionals and women. We used specific forms for each of the four PPA driving components. Forms for managers and professionals addressed the decision-making process, implemented strategies, participatory process in strategy design, and healthcare practice. Forms for women and neonatal care addressed socio-economic, demographic and health condition; prenatal and birth care; tour of the hospital before delivery; labour expectation vs. real experience; and satisfaction with care received. We will estimate the degree of implementation of PPA strategies related to two of the four driving components: “participation of women and families” and “reorganisation of care”. We will then assess its effect on CS rate and secondary outcomes for each of the twelve selected hospitals, and for the total sample. To allow for clinical, socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics in women, we will conduct multivariate analysis. Additionally, we will evaluate the influence of internal context variables (the PPA driving components “governance” and “monitoring”) on the degree of implementation of the components “participation of women and families” and “reorganisation of care”, by means of thematic content analysis. This analysis will include both quantitative and qualitative data.DiscussionThe effectiveness of quality improvement interventions that reduce CS rates requires examination. This study will identify strategies that could promote healthier births.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12978-018-0636-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Despite the existing resources for adequate dengue patient care in the Brazilian healthcare system, the case-fatality rate for the disease is still high in the country. In order to identify factors associated with dengue-related death, this study evaluated quality of care according to the degree of implementation of specific measures, the technical and scientific quality of care, and access to health services in two municipalities (counties) in Northeast Brazil. An evaluative study of the implementation analysis type was performed, with death from dengue as the sentinel event for quality of care. To assess the degree of implementation and quality of care, the study scored the interview criteria and patient chart analysis; access was evaluated by thematic analysis. As for structure and process, the health services were found to be partially adequate (70%). No geographic or economic barriers were found to explain the occurrence of deaths. Technical and scientific quality failed to achieve adequate levels in the municipalities (46% and 30%) or in the specific services, and clinical management of dengue by the health services proved insufficient.

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Objectives Public health interventions are increasingly represented as complex systems. Research tools for capturing the dynamic of interventions processes, however, are practically non-existent. This paper describes the development and proof of concept process of an analytical tool, the critical event card (CEC), which supports the representation and analysis of complex interventions' evolution, based on critical events. Methods Drawing on the actor-network theory (ANT), we developed and field-tested the tool using three innovative health interventions in northeastern Brazil. Interventions were aimed to promote health equity through intersectoral approaches; were engaged in participatory evaluation and linked to professional training programs. The CEC developing involve practitioners and researchers from projects. Proof of concept was based on document analysis, face-toface interviews and focus groups. Results Analytical categories from CEC allow identifying and describing critical events as milestones in the evolution of complex interventions. Categories are (1) event description; (2) actants (human and non-human) involved; (3) interactions between actants; (4) mediations performed; (5) actions performed; (6) inscriptions produced; and (7) consequences for interventions.Conclusions The CEC provides a tool to analyze and represent intersectoral internvetions' complex and dynamic evolution.

Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar os resultados do estudo de avaliabilidade do Programa Academia Carioca da Saúde visando ampliar a compreensão sobre a intervenção e maximizar a utilidade da avaliação. Foram realizadas as seguintes etapas: análise documental, entrevista com informantes-chave, modelização da intervenção e formulação das perguntas avaliativas. A construção do Modelo Lógico do Programa permitiu descrever as dimensões e os componentes do programa, as ações estratégicas e os efeitos esperados com ênfase no acesso regular às praticas corporais e de atividade física, nos grupos de promoção da saúde e no fortalecimento da participação comunitária.

OBJETIVOS: descrever a situação da gravidez e maternidade em adolescentes de 10 a 19 anos, residentes na comunidade de Roda de Fogo, relacionando sua condição social e famíliar. MÉTODOS: estudo descritivo, censitário, transversal, utilizando dados do Sistema de Informação da Atenção Básica. Variáveis dependentes: adolescente grávida ou mãe. Variáveis independentes relacionadas ao adolescente: sexo, idade, escolaridade e ocupação; relativas à família: domicílio, ocupação e, tipo de emprego dos pais número de residentes casa, cômodos, luz elétrica e participação em grupos comunitários. O chi2 e o odds ratio foram usados para calcular a associação das variáveis. RESULTADOS: 88,0% dos adolescentes estudavam e 7,8% trabalhavam. Maior proporção de mães do que de pais residiam no mesmo domicílio. 91,6% dos pais e 54,3% das mães trabalhavam. 31,1% das famílias participavam de grupos comunitários. Na faixa de 15 a 19 anos 3,8% das adolescentes estavam grávidas e 11,9% eram mães. CONCLUSÕES: a estrutura familiar repercute na vida dos adolescentes e na sua condição de gravidez ou maternidade. Esta condição está associada com o abandono da escola, a ausência do pai e/ou da mãe do domicílio, o desemprego paterno e/ou materno e a menor participação da família em grupos comunitários.

Será apresentada neste artigo a proposta do Curso Básico de Avaliação em Saúde do Instituto Materno Infantil Prof. Fernando Figueira - IMIP - voltada ao ensino dos principais conceitos e abordagens nesse campo de atuação, com o uso de fundamentos e da tecnologia de Educação à Distância. Este curso é parte integrante da Política Nacional de Institucionalização da Avaliação em Saúde, com vistas à formação de profissionais situados em posições estratégicas nas três instâncias gestoras do Sistema Único de Saúde, nas diversas regiões brasileiras. Considerando o perfil esperado para o avaliador em saúde foram estabelecidas as competências para este profissional e uma proposta pedagógica centrada no aprendizado crítico, reflexivo, autônomo e com base no dialogo entre a teoria e a vivência prática do aluno. Para a elaboração deste curso foi conformada uma equipe multiprofissional (avaliadores, consultores pedagógicos, técnicos de informática e diagramação), sendo realizadas as seguintes etapas: elaboração do material didático, desenvolvimento da página na rede, capacitação de tutores e seleção dos alunos.