Evidences indicate important QOL or HRQOL impairments in infertile women. Among men, it does not appear to be intense. There is scarce knowledge regarding the impact of infertility on couples.

This study aims to estimate the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy (AP) in threeBrazilian cities -Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre -and to

Resumo: Este artigo tem o objetivo de discutir a construção da gravidez na adolescência enquanto um problema social. Visa também apresentar e analisar os dados da etapa qualitativa da pesquisa Gravidez naEste artigo é resultado das discussões coletivas dos dados qualitativos da pesquisa GRAVAD por todos os seus participantes. Por isto que, pouco usual na área da Antropologia, sua autoria é creditada a todos eles.

In Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, public primary healthcare (PHC) is provided by traditional Basic Health Units (BHU), the Family Health Strategy (FHS), the Murialdo Health Center (MHC), and the Community Health Service (CHS) of Grupo Hospitalar Conceição. This study compares the quality of adult healthcare among these different types of services. Quality of care was measured by interviews focusing on the experience of physicians and nurses in the services (n = 340), using the Primary Care Assessment Tool. Overall scores for the FHS, MHC, and CHS were significantly higher than for the BHU. The CHS also showed a significantly higher overall score compared to the FHS and MHC. In the multivariate analysis, the variables "specialized training in PHC" and "continuing education" were associated with high overall score. Thus, expansion of FHS coverage and investment in professional training are important potential strategies for improving PHC in Porto Alegre.

O uso de preservativos pelos jovens aumentou, o que não significa que sejam utilizados em todas as relações sexuais; além disso, seu uso varia durante a trajetória afetivo-sexual. Estudou-se a prevalência e fatores associados ao uso de preservativo na iniciação sexual e na última relação sexual, para moças e rapazes de 18-24 anos. Os dados são da Pesquisa GRAVAD, um estudo transversal com amostra probabilística estratificada, através de entrevistas domiciliares, em três capitais brasileiras. Na análise, utilizou-se regressão logística multinomial seguindo modelo hierarquizado. A prevalência de uso de preservativo na iniciação, dentre os usuários de métodos contraceptivos, foi 80,7% pelas moças e 88,6% pelos rapazes. Este uso cai para 38,8% e 56%, respectivamente, na última relação. Nos dois eventos, o uso de preservativo esteve associado, para ambos os sexos, ao pertencimento social e à idade da iniciação. A utilização do preservativo na iniciação determina o uso na última relação (OR = 2,42 para os rapazes e 1,89 para as moças). O maior uso de preservativo entre os jovens não implica uso continuado. As moças utilizaram menos preservativo, comparadas aos rapazes, nos eventos estudados.

Our findings suggest that QOL scores do not differ markedly between spouses. Since QOL seemed similarly affected in both men and women, consideration might be given to offering interventions to them as a dyad. These results are not in line with the previous non-paired studies, and further investigations are required to address this dissimilarity.

No abstract

This study deals with adherence to tuberculosis treatment among men and women as well as the disease's links and consequences vis-à-vis life styles and treatment outcomes. The ethnographic study was a component of the Tuberculosis Epidemiological Control Project in the city of Pelotas and aimed to identify the reasons patients failed to complete treatment. Direct ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews were used. Use of the term "adherence" is justified by the concern for extending to other fundamental factors in addition to the patient's own individual responsibility. This approach fostered an understanding of views towards disease, social dynamics among the various protagonists involved in the disease process, and treatment. Some of the factors considered in adherence to treatment were: socio-demographic characteristics, cultural factors, popular beliefs, the cost-benefit relationship, physical and chemical aspects of the drugs, the physician-patient relationship, and level of family participation in treatment.