Background: Dengue is increasing in its global presence with an estimated 4 billion people at-risk of infection in at least 128 countries. Despite the promising results of EcoHealth and community mobilization approaches to Aedes reduction, more evidence of their efficacy on reducing dengue risk is needed. The principal research question is to determine if interventions based upon community mobilization reduce the risk of dengue virus infection among children 3 to 9 years old compared to usual dengue control practice in Fortaleza, Brazil. Methods: The present study will follow a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) design with randomization at the census tract level with equal allocation to the two arms. In each arm, there will be 34 clusters of 86 children between 3 to 9 years old for an expected total of 5848 children enrolled in the study, assuming a risk reduction of 29.5% based upon findings from a previous multi-site cRCT. The primary outcomes are rates of antidengue Immunoglobulin G (IgG) seroconversion and adult female Aedes density. The intervention is based upon a participatory health research approach, Socializing Evidence for Participatory Action (SEPA), where the research evidence is used to foster community engagement and ownership of the health issue and solution. Following allocation, intervention communities will develop and implement their own solutions that will likely include a wide variety of collective events and media approaches. Data collection activities over a period of 3 years include household visits for blood collection, household surveys, and entomological surveys; and qualitative activities including focus groups, in-depth interviews, and document analysis to evaluate the process, acceptability, fidelity, and sustainability of the intervention. Study participants will be aware of their assignment and all research staff will be blinded although the intervention assignment will likely be revealed to field staff through interaction with participants.

Background Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease that is associated with four serotypes of the dengue virus. Children are vulnerable to infection with the dengue virus and the risk of severe dengue disease is the highest among infants and children, particularly those who have been previously infected with a different dengue serotype. Sufficient knowledge, positive attitudes, and proper practices (KAP) are essential for dengue prevention and control. This study aims to estimate the dengue seropositivity for study participants and to examine the association between households’ dengue-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP), and children’s risk of dengue seropositivity, while accounting for socioeconomic and demographic differences in Brazil. Methodology/Principal Findings This analysis was based on a cross-sectional study from Fortaleza, Brazil between November 2019, and February 2020. There were 392 households and 483 participant children who provided a sample of sufficient quality for serological analysis. The main exposure was a household’s dengue-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices, assessed through a questionnaire to construct a composite KAP score categorized into three levels: low, moderate and high. The main outcome is dengue immunoglobulin G(IgG) antibodies, collected using dried blood spots and assessed with Panbio Dengue IgG indirect ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays) test commercial kits. The estimated crude dengue seroprevalence among participating children (n=483) was 25.1%. 5% (n=20) of households achieved a score of over 75% for KAP, while most households achieved between 50% and 75% of the total scores (n=271, 69%), and 101 households scored lower than 50% of the total score (26%). Each KAP domain was significantly and positively associated with the others. We found high household KAP scores were associated with an increased risk of seropositivity (RR: 2.08, 95% CI: 1.09-3.97, p=0.027). Household adult respondents’ education level of elementary school or higher was negatively associated with children’s relative risk of being seropositive (RR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.49-0.87, p=0.004). The risk of seropositivity in older children (6-12 years old) was over 6 times that of younger children (2-5 years old) (RR: 6.15, 95% CI: 3.51-10.76, p<0.001). Children living in households with sealed water tanks or no water storage had a lower relative risk of being seropositive (RR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.55-0.99, p=0.041). Conclusions/Significance Our results provide insight into the prevalence of dengue seropositivity in Fortaleza, Brazil in children, and certain demographic and socioeconomic characteristics associated with children’s risk of being seropositive. They also suggest that KAP may not identify those more at risk for dengue, although understanding and enhancing households’ KAP is crucial for effective community dengue control and prevention initiatives.

No intuito de reafirmar os princípios do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), institui-se a Política Nacional de Educação Popular em Saúde (PNEPS-SUS), tendo como estratégia um curso de educação popular em saúde para trabalhadores do SUS e movimentos sociais. Objetivou-se analisar o tema das aprendizagens com o corpo todo surgido no processo formativo dos (as) educadores (as) do curso, relacionado à produção de autonomia. A formação de educadores tem atuado na lógica de prerrogativas a serem seguidas, porém, a educação popular propõe a aprendizagem como exercício da autonomia para a responsabilidade política. Neste estudo exploratório, com base na abordagem qualitativa, ancorado no estudo de caso, produzimos os dados com entrevistas em profundidade e observação participante. O curso revelou-se tecido por aprendizagens com o corpo todo que demarcaram inovações na educação em saúde, ao incluir a corporeidade, a espiritualidade, as histórias e vulnerabilidades dos (as) educadores (as), possibilitando sua (trans) formação.

Background: Dengue is increasing in its global presence with an estimated 4 billion people at-risk of infection in at least 128 countries. Despite the promising results of EcoHealth and community mobilization approaches to Aedes reduction, more evidence of their efficacy on reducing dengue risk is needed. The principal research question is to determine if interventions based upon community mobilization reduce the risk of dengue virus infection among children 3 to 9 years old compared to usual dengue control practice in Fortaleza, Brazil. Methods: The present study will follow a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) design with randomization at the census tract level with equal allocation to the two arms. In each arm, there will be 34 clusters of 86 children between 3 to 9 years old for an expected total of 5,848 children enrolled in the study, assuming a risk reduction of 29.5% based upon findings from a previous multi-site cRCT. The primary outcomes are rates of anti-dengue Immunoglobulin G (IgG) seroconversion and adult female Aedes density. The intervention is based upon a participatory health research approach, Socializing Evidence for Participatory Action (SEPA), where the research evidence is used to foster community engagement and ownership of the health issue and solution. Following allocation, intervention communities will develop and implement their own solutions that will likely include a wide variety of collective events and media approaches. Data collection activities over a period of three years include household visits for blood collection, household surveys, and entomological surveys; and qualitative activities including focus groups, indepth interviews, and document analysis to evaluate the process, acceptability, fidelity, and sustainability of the intervention. Study participants will be aware of their assignment and all research staff will be blinded although the intervention assignment will likely be revealed to field staff through interaction with participants. Discussion: The results of our study will provide evidence on community mobilization as an intervention for dengue control. We anticipate that if community mobilization is effective in Fortaleza, the results of this study will help develop evidence-based vector control programs in Brazil, and also in other countries struggling with Aedes-transmitted diseases.

RESUMO A educação popular em saúde é uma estratégia de fortalecimento da participação popular na rearticulação da Reforma Sanitária Brasileira. Como efetivação da Política Nacional de Educação Popular em Saúde, tem-se o Curso Livre de Educação Popular em Saúde (EdPopSUS). Os educadores do EdPopSUS passam por uma seleção pública composta de um curso de 40 horas. A coordenação do Ceará realizou, autonomamente, processo de educação permanente após a etapa seletiva. Este artigo objetivou constituir um olhar sobre a formação inicial e sobre a educação permanente vivenciadas pelos/as educadores/as, analisando os conflitos desses processos à luz da educação popular, em diálogo com as superações produzidas a partir de atos-limites. Nesta pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa, baseada no estudo de caso, realizou-se análise de conteúdo de um corpus constituído por 23 entrevistas. Foram evidenciadas quatro categorias: processo inicial, princípios da educação popular, situações-limites e ação-reflexão-ação. O curso possibilitou a concretização dos princípios da educação popular. A competição para a seleção, a não participação em todos os momentos e a constituição das duplas foram algumas das situações-limites experienciadas pelos/as educadores/as. Tais situações foram mediadas pela vivência dos princípios da educação popular, apontando atos-limites para o seu exercício na conjuntura atual, especialmente no âmbito do Sistema Único de Saúde.

Social media usage is growing globally, with an exponential increase in low- and middle-income countries. Social media changes the ways in which information-sharing occurs, intensifying the population’s exposure to misinformation, including fake news. This has important repercussions for global health. The spread of fake news can undermine the implementation of evidence-based interventions and weaken the credibility of scientific expertise. This is particularly worrisome in countries, such as Brazil, in a sociopolitical context characterized by a lack of popular trust in public institutions. In this project report, we describe our experience with the spread of fake news through the social media platform WhatsApp during the implementation of a cluster randomized controlled trial aimed at reducing dengue incidence in children in Fortaleza (Brazil). During initial visits to selected clusters, the research team was met with resistance. Then, soon after data collection started, fake news began circulating about the study. As a result, the research team developed strategies to dispel suspicion and further promote the study. However, the climate of violence and mistrust, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, forced the interruption of the study in 2019. The lessons learned from our experience in Fortaleza can be useful to other researchers and practitioners implementing large-scale interventions in this era of health-related misinformation.

Background: Dengue is increasing in its global presence with an estimated 4 billion people at-risk of infection in at least 128 countries. Despite the promising results of EcoHealth and community mobilization approaches to Aedes reduction, more evidence of their efficacy on reducing dengue risk is needed. The principal research question is to determine if interventions based upon community mobilization reduce the risk of dengue virus infection among children 3 to 9 years old compared to usual dengue control practice in Fortaleza, Brazil. Methods: The present study will follow a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) design with randomization at the census tract level with equal allocation to the two arms. In each arm, there will be 34 clusters of 86 children between 3 to 9 years old for an expected total of 5,848 children enrolled in the study, assuming a risk reduction of 29.5% based upon findings from a previous multi-site cRCT. The primary outcomes are rates of anti-dengue Immunoglobulin G (IgG) seroconversion and adult female Aedes density. The intervention is based upon a participatory health research approach, Socializing Evidence for Participatory Action (SEPA), where the research evidence is used to foster community engagement and ownership of the health issue and solution. Following allocation, intervention communities will develop and implement their own solutions that will likely include a wide variety of collective events and media approaches. Data collection activities over a period of three years include household visits for blood collection, household surveys, and entomological surveys; and qualitative activities including focus groups, indepth interviews, and document analysis to evaluate the process, acceptability, fidelity, and sustainability of the intervention. Study participants will be aware of their assignment and all research staff will be blinded although the intervention assignment will likely be revealed to field staff through interaction with participants. Discussion: The results of our study will provide evidence on community mobilization as an intervention for dengue control. We anticipate that if community mobilization is effective in Fortaleza, the results of this study will help develop evidence-based vector control programs in Brazil, and also in other countries struggling with Aedes-transmitted diseases.

Background: Dengue is increasing in its global presence with an estimated 4 billion people at-risk of infection in at least 128 countries. Despite the promising results of EcoHealth and community mobilization approaches to Aedes reduction, more evidence of their efficacy on reducing dengue risk is needed. The principal research question is to determine if interventions based upon community mobilization reduce the risk of dengue virus infection among children 3 to 9 years old compared to usual dengue control practice in Fortaleza, Brazil. Methods: The present study will follow a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) design with randomization at the census tract level with equal allocation to the two arms. In each arm, there will be 34 clusters of 86 children between 3 to 9 years old for an expected total of 5,848 children enrolled in the study, assuming a risk reduction of 29.5% based upon findings from a previous multi-site cRCT. The primary outcomes are rates of anti-dengue Immunoglobulin G (IgG) seroconversion and adult female Aedes density. The intervention is based upon a participatory health research approach, Socializing Evidence for Participatory Action (SEPA), where the research evidence is used to foster community engagement and ownership of the health issue and solution. Following allocation, intervention communities will develop and implement their own solutions that will likely include a wide variety of collective events and media approaches. Data collection activities over a period of three years include household visits for blood collection, household surveys, and entomological surveys; and qualitative activities including focus groups, indepth interviews, and document analysis to evaluate the process, acceptability, fidelity, and sustainability of the intervention. Study participants will be aware of their assignment and all research staff will be blinded although the intervention assignment will likely be revealed to field staff through interaction with participants. Discussion: The results of our study will provide evidence on community mobilization as an intervention for dengue control. We anticipate that if community mobilization is effective in Fortaleza, the results of this study will help develop evidence-based vector control programs in Brazil, and also in other countries struggling with Aedes-transmitted diseases.