Abstract

This cross-sectional study investigated the epidemiological profile of pregnant women with positive VDRL in Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil, in 2008. The study verified the proportion of pregnant women with syphilis that was classified as treated incorrectly according to Brazilian Ministry of Health guidelines, and assessed the reasons for inadequate treatment. Fifty-eight women who had given birth at five public maternity hospitals were interviewed consecutively following delivery. Data were also recovered from medical files and pregnancy cards. Sociodemographic and obstetric data and information related to the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis in both pregnant women and their partners were analyzed. Only three (5.2%; 95%CI: 1.8%-14.1%) pregnant women had received adequate treatment. The main reason for inadequate treatment was lack of partner treatment (88% of cases; 95%CI: 76.2%-94.4%). Medical care as currently provided does not guarantee the control of gestational syphilis in this sample.

PURPOSES:To analyze the sociodemographic and behavioral profile of sex partners, the proportion of those inadequately treated as well as to verify how many of them were inadequately treated and why some were not treated. METHODS: Quantitative study with data collected from May to October, 2008 at five public maternities in Fortaleza, Ceará. A survey was carried out with parturients who were hospitalized with syphilis and had a stable sex partner. We analyzed sociodemographic variables and those related to communication, diagnosis and treatment of sex partners. The data were entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and were analyzed using frequency distributions, measures of central tendency and dispersion. RESULTS: The study included 56 pregnant women. Most sexual partners were young adults aged on average 29 years, 50% of them had studied for less than seven years, 82.1 worked and 46.4% had a family income of less than a minimum wage. Of all the partners, 92.9% were the child's father and 69.6% lived with the women. Fifty percent and 12% were alcohol and drug users, respectively. Most partners (75.0%) were told about the diagnosis by the women, and in 78.6% of cases they were aware of the VDRL result before or during the prenatal period. However, 25.0% of the women did not communicate the result to their partners for the following reasons: not knowing the importance of the partner's treatment (50.0%), not being together after the diagnosis (42.9%) and having a quarrel (7.1%). Of the partners who were informed about the result before or during the prenatal period, 56.0% were treated and six (42.8%) were considered to have been

Introduction: The Brazilian society is still facing difficulties in dealing with the question of infant mortality control. Among the control mechanisms, the child's health handbook (CHH) is an indispensable tool for child development assistance in line with the current demands and changes promoted since 2005 by the Ministry of health. Objective: To analyze the national literature concerning the use of the CHH and the quality of its completeness. Materials and Methods: This was an integrative review using the BIREME virtual library and the databases LILACS, SciELO and BDENF. Among the articles published between 2005 to 2012, seven met the eligibility criteria and were selected to compose the sample. Results: There was a predominance of cross-sectional studies. Nursing and medicine were the professional categories which mostly published in this field. The studies were consensual on professional unpreparedness, lack of family orientation and unsatisfactory fulfillment of the CHH, as the main findings in their results. Conclusion: The CHH instrument has been underused, particularly due to the profile of assisting health professionals, which makes it indispensable to improve their training. Moreover, the design and development of specific strategies to further identify the barriers faced by health professionals and families on the use of the CHH is necessary.

Cad. Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro, 32(9):e00118215, set, 2016Avaliação da cascata de cuidado na prevenção da transmissão vertical do HIV no Brasil Evaluation of the cascade of care in prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Brazil Evaluación de la cascada de cuidado en la prevención de la transmisión vertical del VIH en Brasil