Objective: To analyze the current and future challenges related to the planning of public policies and population aging. Method: A case study was conducted using quantitative and qualitative data from secondary data information systems and interviews with actors of social policy and the country's health. Results: In 2010, there were 39 elderly persons for every 100 young people, while in 2040 there will be an estimated 153 elderly persons for every 100 young people. For those interviewed, Brazil is not prepared for the needs generated by such population aging, due to challenges such as the adequacy of the social security and health system. The growing number of elderly persons and increasing morbidity and mortality profiles worsen the heterogeneous epidemiological situation with disease, disability and sequelae that require the health system to be a continuous and multidisciplinary organization. The present study identified a reduction of beds and hospitalizations, which may reflect the improvement of primary care and quality of life, with a complexification of hospitalizations. Conclusion: With population aging and a lack of necessary support, society must be aware of the price that it must pay and the state must be prepared to provide specific policies to ensure comprehensive care, recognizing the characteristics of aging and preserving quality of life.

BackgroundStarting in August 2015, there was an increase in the number of cases of neonatal microcephaly in Northeast Brazil. These findings were identified as being an epidemic of microcephaly related to Zika virus (ZIKV) infection. The present study aims to analyse the spatial distribution of microcephaly cases in Recife (2015–2016), which is in Northeast Brazil, and its association with the living conditions in this city.MethodsThis was an ecological study that used data from reported cases of microcephaly from the State Health Department of Pernambuco (August 2015 to July 2016). The basic spatial unit of analysis was the 94 districts of Recife. The case definition of microcephaly was: neonates with a head circumference of less than the cut-off point of −2 standard deviations below the mean value from the established Fenton growth curve. As an indicator of the living conditions of the 94 districts, the percentage of heads of households with an income of less than twice the minimum wage was calculated. The districts were classified into four homogeneous strata using the K-means clustering algorithm. We plotted the locations of each microcephaly case over a layer of living conditions.ResultsDuring the study period, 347 microcephaly cases were reported, of which 142 (40.9%) fulfilled the definition of a microcephaly case. Stratification of the 94 districts resulted in the identification of four strata. The highest stratum in relation to the living conditions presented the lowest prevalence rate of microcephaly, and the overall difference between this rate and the rates of the other strata was statistically significant. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test demonstrated that there was a strong association between a higher prevalence of microcephaly and poor living conditions. After the first 6 months of the study period, there were no microcephaly cases recorded within the population living in the richest socio-economic strata.ConclusionThis study showed that those residing in areas with precarious living conditions had a higher prevalence of microcephaly compared with populations with better living conditions.

This paper assesses inpatient and outpatient care and their capacity to respond to changing demands in the context of the demographic transition in Brazil. The data were obtained from studies by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and databases in the National Health System (CNES, SIH, and SIA). The reduction in birth, fertility, and infant mortality rates and the increase in life expectancy at birth are still driving population growth, while decreasing the dependency rate, thereby providing the opportunity to make necessary adjustments. The population increased by more than 27.5 million from 1999 to 2009, with a 26.7% reduction in hospital beds and 947,000 hospitalizations, with distortions in the distribution by specialty, but with increases in high-complexity outpatient and inpatient care. The results show that Brazil is undergoing a transition in the healthcare model, requiring greater capacity for future planning of a more complex system and revising the model to prepare for a larger elderly population in the coming decades.

Qualidade do atendimento nas Unidades de Saúde da Família no município de Recife: a percepção do usuáriosQuality of care in the family healthcare units in the city of Recife: user perception

O estudo buscou identificar diferenciais entre os fatores de risco para mortalidade infantil em cinco cidades, sendo uma de cada macrorregião brasileira. Realizou-se um estudo caso-controle, considerando casos os óbitos de menores de um ano registrados no Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade (SIM) e no Sistema de Informações sobre Nascidos Vivos (SINASC) e controles os nascidos vivos que não foram a óbito, registrados no SINASC. Os fatores de risco foram estimados por meio de análises univariadas e multivariadas, adotando-se os modelos logísticos hierarquizados. Os principais determinantes da mortalidade infantil foram os fatores biológicos (Apgar, baixo peso ao nascer, prematuridade e presença de malformação congênita) mediados pelos fatores socioeconômicos (escolaridade, estado civil e raça/cor) e as condições da assistência (consultas de pré-natal). Embora se verifique concordância em parte dos determinantes da mortalidade infantil entre as cidades analisadas, alguns diferenciais regionais puderam ser observados expressando a condição iníqua da mortalidade infantil associada às desigualdades nas condições socioeconômicas e de acesso aos serviços de saúde.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the contribution of linkage between databases of live births and infant mortality to improve the completeness of the variables common to the Mortality Information System (SIM) and the Live Birth Information System (SINASC) in Brazilian capitals in 2012.METHODS We studied 9,001 deaths of children under one year registered in the SIM in 2012 and 1,424,691 live births present in the SINASC in 2011 and 2012. The databases were related with linkage in two steps – deterministic and probabilistic. We calculated the percentage of incompleteness of the variables common to the SIM and SINASC before and after using the technique.RESULTS We could relate 90.8% of the deaths to their respective declarations of live birth, most of them paired deterministically. We found a higher percentage of pairs in Porto Alegre, Curitiba, and Campo Grande. In the capitals of the North region, the average of pairs was 84.2%; in the South region, this result reached 97.9%. The 11 variables common to the SIM and SINASC had 11,278 incomplete fields cumulatively, and we could recover 91.4% of the data after linkage. Before linkage, five variables presented excellent completeness in the SINASC in all Brazilian capitals, but only one variable had the same status in the SIM. After applying this technique, all 11 variables of the SINASC became excellent, while this occurred in seven variables of the SIM. The city of birth was significantly associated with the death component in the quality of the information.CONCLUSIONS Despite advances in the coverage and quality of the SIM and SINASC, problems in the completeness of the variables can still be identified, especially in the SIM. In this perspective, linkage can be used to qualify important information for the analysis of infant mortality.

OBJETIVO: avaliar a evolução da assistência fonoaudiológica no SUS, nos anos 2000, 2005 e 2010. MÉTODOS: trata-se de um estudo descritivo, cujas unidades de análise foram as regiões do Brasil e o universo dos municípios agregados em porte populacional. Foram analisados os anos de 2000, 2005 e 2010, e utilizados dados secundários para coletar informações sobre a quantidade e o valor pago por procedimentos realizados por fonoaudiólogos, além do número de profissionais no SUS. RESULTADOS: houve grande crescimento dos procedimentos de fonoaudiologia no país, com maior crescimento na região Norte. Entre os municípios, o maior crescimento ocorreu entre aqueles de menor porte populacional. Em 2010, 89,8% dos municípios brasileiros não realizaram nenhum tipo de procedimento em assistência fonoaudiológica no SUS. Entre 2000 e 2010, o coeficiente procedimentos/mil habitantes passou de 19,8 para 60,7. A evolução dos gastos com fonoaudiologia no SUS demonstrou que o crescimento proporcional destes procedimentos foi maior que o aumento dos gastos totais ambulatoriais. E entre os grupos, os atendimentos para órteses e próteses apresentaram o maior crescimento. Nos anos analisados, o país apresentou um aumento no número de fonoaudiólogos, apesar de ser evidenciado um déficit de profissionais em 2010. CONCLUSÃO: a evolução da assistência fonoaudiológica no SUS apresentou um crescimento significante, entre 2000 e 2010. Entretanto, ainda persiste uma má distribuição da assistência e de fonoaudiólogos no país, evidenciando a necessidade contínua de discussõessobre a universalização do acesso e a busca pela equidade na assistência fonoaudiológica.

OBJECTIVE:To identify self-perceived oral health in adults and associated variables. METHODS:The study involved primary data from the Brazilian Oral Health Survey (SBBrasil) 2010 with 2,456 adults aged 35 to 44 in the Northeastern Brazil. The dependent variable was self-perceived oral health and the independent variables were grouped into four blocks: demographic, predisposing/facilitation, oral health status and those related to self-perceived need for treatment. The Rao and Scott test was used to test the association between these variables. To test the effect of the independent variables on the outcome, a multinomial logistic regression model was used according to the hierarchical model, resulting in an analysis divided into two stages: simple analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. RESULTS:Positive self-perception of oral health was observed in 37% of the participants. In the fi nal model, the features directly associated with this perception were being white, having a household income exceeding R$ 500.00, owning goods number above the median, having more sound teeth, not experiencing bleeding, not requiring prosthesis, Oral Imparcts on Daily Performances = 0, not requiring treatment, having gone to the dentist less than 3 years ago. CONCLUSIONS:The results show that self-perceived oral health in adults living in the Northeast is directly associated with a multidimensional structure of factors. The poor economic conditions associated with poor clinical conditions impact heavily on this population's self-perception of oral health.