We carried out an evaluative study on factors associated with long-term use of female condoms for STI/HIV prevention. A total of 255 women and 29 men who were using female condoms for at least 4 months participated in qualitative/quantitative interviews. The study was conducted in six Brazilian cities. Four primary themes were identified as influencing acceptability and adoption of the female condom: (1) personal "assistance" (counseling) during the early adoption phase; (2) safety; (3) pleasure; and (4) increased sense of power for safer sex negotiation. Alternate use of male and female condoms was the norm among participants, but for approximately one third of the sample, the female condom was the preferred option for safer sex. The study findings suggest that providing clients with explicit and sustained intervention strategies may have a decisive influence on long-term adoption of female condoms.
Despite new improvements in AIDS treatment, preventive measures are still essential to control the epidemic. Effective programs almost always depend on correct and efficient allocation of scarce health resources. Detailed information on the epidemic, such as where, when, and how the epidemic will spread are of great value. This study was conducted to obtain a better understanding of the dissemination of AIDS cases in four important Brazilian States. Spatial diffusion patterns were evaluated qualitatively by studying sequential maps and quantitatively by analyzing spatial correlograms. Ten years were analyzed, grouped in three periods (1987-1989, 1990-1992, and 1993-1996). The diffusion process was studied for both total AIDS cases and male and female cases. Diffusion of AIDS cases presented specific characteristics for each of the four States. Information derived from the study, especially the results of the correlogram analysis, improve our understanding of the epidemic's spatial diffusion in different parts of the country and can also be used to determine parameters for other AIDS epidemiological models.
Distance Learning Courses are supported by technological tools that compensate for certain limitations, such as distance itself, temporality and emotional issues, among others. Distance Learning Courses must provide adequate Virtual Learning Environments in order for the students to have access to proper support during their learning process. The work can be justified as the monitoring teams need to process the course information stored via Moodle. Although the information is located in a single data bank, data recovery for students and tutors' monitoring is difficult. The research objective is to evaluate productivity on students' information processing on Moodle under the surveillance of the Monitoring Supervision Board of UNASUS/UFMA -Federal University of Maranhão. This evaluation is undertaken for a distance learning healthrelated graduate course using the Monitoring System (MonSys)of tutors and students. As a form of evaluation, the time spent by the UNASUS/UFMA monitoring team technician in order toprocess information through MonSys was compared to the time spent to recover information from MonSys. The Monitoring System brings out the opportunity to monitor students and tutorsin Moodle -Virtual Learning Environment in a quick, online way requiring less efforts from the monitoring team to generate useful information aiming at a greater course control and its satisfactory progress. According to the results, the reduction of the time spent by the monitoring teamand a consequentlybetter supervision of students and tutors' access and performance in postgraduate studies were significant to the demands of UNASUS/UFMA.
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