The objective of this research was to assess how the More Doctors Program has been implemented in rural areas and the contributions made by providing physicians to ensure comprehensive health care. A study was conducted in a predominantly rural city in the state of Pará, involving 42 interviews with health professionals and managers, council members and users. The interviews then underwent content analysis. The results suggest that there have been improvements in primary health care -such as a higher number of consultations and expanded access to the primary care services offered -that can be attributed to the presence of the physicians and the use of more equitable strategies. However, there are still challenges to be confronted in order to ensure comprehensive health care in rural areas, such as maintenance of the program and overcoming recurrent problems, such as: lack of drugs and tests; limitations in follow-up on patients referred to other services; and weaknesses in the health care network.

The universal and equitable access to health is established in the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 and must be guaranteed by the Brazilian Unified Health System -the Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). The lack of professionals and the large regional differences in the distribution of human resources, mainly physicians, are factors that contribute to the nonfulfillment of the SUS principles. This article reports the experience of evaluation of the More Doctors Program (PMM) by a multidisciplinary team composed of 28 researchers, based on field work in 32 municipalities with 20% or more of the population in extreme poverty selected in all regions of Brazil (remote areas, far from capitals, and rural maroon communities), as well as analyzes of the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities based on the Ministry of Health databases. The research resulted in a vast scientific production, pointing out important results, such as broadening of access to health and reducing of avoidable hospitalizations. The reflections brought here show that the PMM contributed to the implementation and consolidation of the SUS principles and guidelines, and guaranteed access to health, especially for the poorest populations, small municipalities and remote and distant regions. KEYWORDS Health manpower. Health services. Primary Health Care. National health programs.RESUMO O acesso à saúde de forma universal e equitativa está preconizado na Constituição Federal de 1988, devendo ser garantida pelo Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Dentre os diversos fatores que contribuem para a não efetivação dos princípios do SUS, destacam-se a insuficiência de profissionais e as disparidades regionais na distribuição de recursos humanos, principalmente médicos. Este artigo relata a experiência de avaliação do Programa Mais Médicos (PMM) por uma equipe multidisciplinar composta por 28 pesquisadores, a partir de trabalho de campo em 32 municípios com 20% ou mais da população em extrema pobreza selecionados em todas as regiões do Brasil (áreas remotas, distantes das capitais e comunidades quilombolas rurais), além de análises sobre os 5.570 municípios brasileiros baseadas em bancos de dados do Ministério da Saúde. A pesquisa resultou em vasta produção científica, apontando importantes resultados, como ampliação do acesso à saúde e redução de internações evitáveis. As reflexões aqui trazidas permitem concluir que o PMM contribuiu para a efetivação e consolidação dos princípios e diretrizes do SUS e garantiu acesso à saúde, especialmente para as populações mais pobres, municípios pequenos e regiões remotas e longínquas. PALAVRAS-CHAVE Recursos humanos em saúde. Serviços de saúde. Atenção Primária a Saúde. Programas nacionais de saúde.

Introduction: The Mais Médicos program was introduced in 2013 with the aim of reducing the shortage of doctors in priority regions and diminishing regional inequalities in health. One of the strategies has been to offer 3-year contracts for doctors to work in primary healthcare services in small towns, inland, rural, remote, and socially vulnerable areas. This report describes the program's implementation and the allocation of doctors to these target areas in 2014. Methods: To describe the provision of doctors in the first year of implementation, we compared the doctor-to-population ratio in the 5570 municipalities of Brazil before and after the program, based on the Federal Board of Medicine database (2013), and the official dataset provided by the Ministry of Health (2014). Results: In its first public call (July 2013) 3511 municipalities joined the Mais Médicos program, requesting a total of 15 460 doctors; although the program prioritizes the recruitment of Brazilians, only 1096 nationals enrolled and were hired, together with 522 foreign doctors. As a consequence, an international cooperation agreement was set in place to recruit Cuban doctors. In 12 months the program recruited 14 462 doctors: 79.0% Cubans, 15.9% Brazilians and 5.1% of other nationalities, covering 93.5% of the doctors demanded; they were assigned to all the 3785 municipalities enrolled. The study reveals a major decrease in the number of municipalities with fewer than 0.1 doctors per thousand inhabitants, which dropped from 374 in 2013 to 95 in 2014 (75% reduction). Of the total, 294 doctors were sent to work in the country's 34 Indigenous Health Districts (100% coverage) and 3390 doctors were deployed in municipalities containing certified rural maroon communities (formed centuries ago by runaway slaves). After 1 year of implementation, the municipalities with maroon communities with less than 0.1 doctors per © James Cook University 2016, http://www.jcu.edu.au 2 thousand inhabitants were reduced by 87% in the poorest north region. More than 30% of municipalities with maroon communities in the richest regions had more than 1.0 doctors per thousand inhabitants, whereas in the poorest regions fewer than 7% of municipalities reached that level. Conclusions: The Mais Médicos program has granted medical assistance to these historically overlooked populations. However, it is important to evaluate the mid-and long-term sustainability of this initiative.

Objetivo. Mostrar las narrativas de miembros brasileños de los equipos de salud de la familia acerca del humanismo percibido en la práctica de los cooperantes cubanos del programa Mais Médicos. Métodos. Estudio de caso descriptivo de corte transversal. Se aplicó una entrevista semiestructurada a miembros brasileños de los equipos de salud de la familia que trabajaran desde el inicio del programa con médicos cubanos en municipios seleccionados inscritos en el programa Mais Médicos, con 20% o más de su población en extrema pobreza, y menos de cinco médicos o una tasa de 0,5 médicos por 1 000 habitantes antes del programa. Se procesaron los datos mediante la técnica de análisis de contenido. Resultados. Se entrevistaron 30 licenciados y 28 técnicos en enfermería, 1 técnico administrativo y 19 agentes sanitarios. Los entrevistados valoraron positivamente el trabajo de los médicos cooperantes cubanos y resaltaron su responsabilidad, ética y humanismo, así como la elevada calidad de las consultas médicas y sus buenas relaciones con los pares de la atención básica. Conclusiones. Se constataron diferencias en los patrones de atención de los médicos cooperantes cubanos del programa Mais Médicos con respecto a los médicos que ejercieron en las comunidades estudiadas antes de la implantación de ese programa. Entre los rasgos diferenciales de los médicos cubanos resaltados más frecuentemente figuran el compromiso con la población —tanto en la consulta médica como en la solución de sus problemas—, la empatía, el respeto y, en general, el humanismo con el que tratan a los pacientes.

RESUMEN Objetivos. Sintetizar la información disponible sobre el efecto del etiquetado nutricional frontal en la elección, compra y consumo de alimentos y bebidas, y el estado nutricional de los consumidores, e identificar los factores que influyen en su efectividad. Métodos. Se realizó una sinopsis de revisiones sistemáticas (RS) conforme a las recomendaciones PRISMA. La búsqueda bibliográfica se realizó en Medline (Pubmed), The Cochrane Library, LILACS, EBSCOhost y Scopus, limitada a estudios publicados en español o inglés sin restricción por fecha de publicación. La calidad metodológica se evaluó utilizando la herramienta AMSTAR 2. Resultados. Se incluyeron siete RS. El etiquetado frontal facilitó la elección de alimentos saludables y tuvo un efecto variable sobre las dimensiones de consumo y compra. Ninguna RS evaluó el efecto sobre el estado nutricional. El costo y sabor, los hábitos alimentarios, el nivel educativo y los sistemas dominantes de procesamiento de información en el consumidor influyeron en su efectividad. La mayoría de RS mostraron limitaciones metodológicas y un nivel de confianza críticamente bajo. Conclusiones. El etiquetado frontal tuvo efecto positivo en la elección de alimentos saludables, con resultados variables en las dimensiones de compra y consumo. Se necesitan estudios locales con una adecuada calidad metodológica para identificar el formato de etiquetado más efectivo en cada país. Su implementación como política de salud pública debe acompañarse de estrategias para mejorar el acceso a alimentos saludables, promover la actividad física y brindar educación nutricional a los consumidores.

The More Doctors in Brazil Project (MDBP) was created in 2013 in order to supply physicians for areas where it is difficult to retain professionals and to provide training in family and community medicine for Brazilian and foreign physicians. This paper examines aspects related to motivations and work processes and conditions in primary health care; the health situation in cities, operation of the of the Brazilian National Health System (SUS), and the relationship with managers. This study is based on interviews with 44 Cuban physicians who are working in 32 cities in all regions of the country. The results showed that the affiliated physicians have an acute sense of observation and are able to make a detailed situational analysis of the areas where they work. The findings also indicated that primary care is still precarious in these cities. However, they also demonstrated that with adequate training it is possible to provide quality primary care, even in the midst of major challenges.

O presente artigo teve como objetivo discutir a atenção à saúde em uma comunidade quilombola do Pará após implantação do Programa Mais Médicos. Realizou-se estudo de caso qualitativo, constituído por duas etapas: exploratória e de realização de coleta de dados na comunidade. Utilizou-se as técnicas de entrevistas semiestruturadas, grupo focal e observação participante. Os atores chaves da pesquisa foram constituídos por usuários quilombolas, profissionais de saúde, gestores da secretaria municipal de saúde e representante do conselho municipal de saúde. Foram realizadas 30 entrevistas semiestruturadas, 24 com usuários quilombolas adultos, além de 01 grupo focal e anotações no diário de campo resultante de observação participante.  Na análise, adotou-se a técnica de análise de conteúdo, com foco nas etapas empregadas por Bardin: pré-análise, exploração do material, tratamento e interpretação dos resultados. Os resultados apontaram que tanto a comunidade quilombola quanto os gestores apoiam e avaliam positivamente a implantação do Programa Mais Médicos. Em relação à atenção à saúde, os resultados mostraram a insuficiência dos serviços de saúde para garantir um atendimento equitativo e integral à saúde dos usuários quilombolas. Verificou-se uma fragilidade dos vínculos entre equipe da ESF e comunidade e uma inversão da lógica assistencial com maior procura pela atenção hospitalar. Os quilombolas afirmaram a existência de racismo e discriminação no atendimento. Assim, percebeu-se a necessidade dos serviços de saúde compreender as especificidades das demandas das comunidades quilombolas e suas características socioculturais e fomentar ações de combate ao racismo institucional para que sejam ofertados serviços que correspondam às necessidades e anseios desta população.

Institutional racism is prevalent in the health services in Brazil and is based on concrete power relations that subjugate, dominate and exclude blacks from having adequate access to health care and health institutions. This critical essay analyzes the importance of expanding the debate, and the production of knowledge about the health of the black population (HBP), focusing on two points: the role of the National Policy for the Integral Health of the Black Population (PNSIPN) and the importance of including the skin color item in the health information systems; and the need for a process of permanent training of professionals, including contents related to the understanding of racism as an element of the social determination of health/disease and heir effects. To demonstrate how structural and institutional racism have affected the black population, we bring also examples of the quilombola populations in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country since 2020. It is concluded that the promotion of care, the reduction of inequities and the quality of health care need to undergo changes in several dimensions, such as the strengthening of the SUS, the daily fight against structural and institutional racism, among others.