Cadernos de saúde pública
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Cadernos de saúde pública · Mar 2007
[Governance and regulation in health: challenges for health management in Greater Metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil].
This paper discusses the relationship between the public and private sectors in the Unified National Health System (SUS), based on research whose objective was to identify governance strategies and mechanisms for public/private relations in the health sector, considering the search for equity in Greater Metropolitan Sao Paulo, Brazil. Governance was used as an analytical category, with health system regulation as the issue. Municipal and State health secretaries, members of health councils, and SUS staff were interviewed, and the empirical material was classified as: (a) regulatory mechanisms and instruments; (b) power loci; and (c) actors' positions concerning the SUS and its relationship to the private sector. ⋯ There are numerous institutional power loci, seen more as places for submitting demands than as forums for negotiation. Despite some progress, governance appears to be more of a formal issue. Discussion is needed on the relationship between the public and private sectors and its regulation by municipalities in order to improve the health system.
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Cadernos de saúde pública · Mar 2007
[Analysis of rulings by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and reflections on national health policy management].
Ministry of Health rulings and provisions are important policy regulation tools that aim to orient the enforcement of health-related laws passed by the Legislative Branch, under the terms of the 1988 Federal Constitution. Such provisions have played a major role in the health sector, due not only to the number of documents submitted since the late 1990s, but mainly because of this tool's persuasive power in defining health sector policy. ⋯ The article classified and analyzed Ministry of Health rulings issued from 1990 to 2002. The study highlights the Ministry's centralizing approach and the use of financial and political persuasion tools that subject State and Municipal governments to the system's rules without creating a negotiated and sustained health policy that the country's institutional realities ratify and support.
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Cadernos de saúde pública · Feb 2007
Review[Evolution of the international intellectual property rights system: patent protection for the pharmaceutical industry and access to medicines].
This article discusses the evolution of the international intellectual property rights system in three phases and the implications for public health, especially for the implementation of policies for access to medicines. During the first phase, characterized by the Paris and Berne Convention, signatory countries defined which technological fields should be protected (or not). ⋯ With the third phase, characterized by the negotiation and signing of bilateral and regional free trade agreements, countries will have to implement TRIPS-plus provisions which may have negative implications for the TRIPS flexibilities as well as for policies for access to medicines. The authors conclude that the currently proposed international intellectual property rights system favors patent-holder rights and that a balance is needed between patent holders' and health rights.
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Cadernos de saúde pública · Feb 2007
[Comprehensive healthcare for female victims of sexual violence: the experience of the Women's Comprehensive Healthcare Center, State University in Campinas, Brazil].
The Women's Comprehensive Healthcare Center (CAISM) has provided care for women who have suffered sexual violence since 1986. Since 1998, a special multidisciplinary team has been in charge of emergency and long-term care for victims of sexual violence. ⋯ In Brazil, there are not enough public services to treat female victims of sexual violence who require legal abortion. Nationwide implementation of new services should be encouraged, in addition to all measures known to reduce the problem such as sex education in schools and widespread information and easy access to effective contraception.
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Cadernos de saúde pública · Feb 2007
[Prevalence of enamel defects and the relationship to dental caries in deciduous and permanent dentition in Indaiatuba, São Paulo, Brazil].
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hypoplasia, demarcated opacity and dental fluorosis among schoolchildren with deciduous and permanent dentition. The association between enamel defects and dental caries was also verified. The sample consisted of 624 schoolchildren aged 5 and 309 aged 12. ⋯ A positive association between dental caries and enamel defects (hypoplasia, demarcated opacity and dental fluorosis) was observed for schoolchildren aged 5. However, only hypoplasia and demarcated opacity were associated with caries experience in permanent dentition. The results of this study indicated that children had increased odds of dental caries when enamel defect was present, both in deciduous and permanent dentition; further studies are needed to give evidence to this association.