Regionalização e acesso à saúde nos estados brasileiros: condicionantes históricos e político-institucionaisRegionalization and access to healthcare in Brazilian states: historical and political-institutional conditioning factors

We measured visual performance in achromatic and chromatic spatial tasks of mercury-exposed subjects and compared the results with norms obtained from healthy individuals of similar age. Data were obtained for a group of 28 mercury-exposed subjects, comprising 20 Amazonian gold miners, 2 inhabitants of Amazonian riverside communities, and 6 laboratory technicians, who asked for medical care. Statistical norms were generated by testing healthy control subjects divided into three age groups. The performance of a substantial proportion of the mercury-exposed subjects was below the norms in all of these tasks. Eleven of 20 subjects (55%) performed below the norms in the achromatic contrast sensitivity task. The mercury-exposed subjects also had lower red-green contrast sensitivity deficits at all tested spatial frequencies (9/11 subjects; 81%). Three gold miners and 1 riverine (4/19 subjects, 21%) performed worse than normal subjects making more mistakes in the color arrangement test. Five of 10 subjects tested (50%), comprising 2 gold miners, 2 technicians, and 1 riverine, performed worse than normal in the color discrimination test, having areas of one or more MacAdam ellipse larger than normal subjects and high color discrimination thresholds at least in one color locus. These data indicate that psychophysical assessment can be used to quantify the degree of visual impairment of mercury-exposed subjects. They also suggest that some spatial tests such as the measurement of red-green chromatic contrast are sufficiently sensitive to detect visual dysfunction caused by mercury toxicity. Correspondence

This chapter examines the visual performance of Amazonian gold miners and other workers suffering from mercury poisoning. Subjects exposed to mercury displayed a variable degree of spatial vision dysfunction. Both achromatic and chromatic vision were impaired. They had lower achromatic contrast sensitivity and this effect was more pronounced in the medium spatial frequency range. Mercury exposed subjects also had lower red-green and blue-green chromatic contrast sensitivity than control subjects in all tested spatial frequencies.

This review focuses only on specific studies into the SUS regionalization process

A Estratégia Saúde da Família é responsável por reorganizar o Sistema Único de Saúde brasileiro por meio da Atenção Primária. O aumento substancial de programas e vagas para residência em Medicina de Família e Comunidade, ocorrido desde 2002, é uma das estratégias para suprir o crescente mercado de trabalho correspondente. Entretanto, menos da metade dessas vagas são ocupadas. A literatura brasileira apresenta poucas evidências sobre o motivo desta baixa procura.Alguns países que optaram pelo fortalecimento da Atenção Primária em seu sistema de saúde também experimentam uma crise aparente na escolha desta carreira pelos egressos médicos. Neste ensaio, revisamos algumas questões envolvidas nesta escolha, apontando sua complexidade e a necessidade de investigações sistematizadas sobre as motivações dos alunos de graduação em optarem ou não por esta especialidade médica, particularmente no Brasil. A B S T R A C TThe Family Health Strategy is responsible for supporting the reorganization of Brazil's Unified National Health System (SUS) through primary care. A substantial increase in available residency positions in family and community medicine is one of the main strategies for supplying the growing professional demand related to this health policy. However, few medical students have chosen the family health career in recent years, and more than half of the vacancies remain unoccupied. The Brazilian literature shows little evidence to explain this fact. Some countries with a strong background in primary health care have also experienced a crisis in the primary care career choice. The current article discusses several arguments involved in this issue, emphasizing its complexity and the need for more scientific data concerning undergraduate students' motivations in choosing this medical specialty as compared to others, particularly in Brazil.