Ciência & saúde coletiva
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Ciência & saúde coletiva · Oct 2011
[Prevalence of orofacial pain and its impact on the oral health-related quality of life of textile industries workers of Laguna, SC, Brazil].
The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of orofacial pain and its impact on the daily performance of workers in the textile industry in the municipality of Laguna, Brazil. A cross-sectional study involving all workers (n= 267) of the five textile industries of the municipality in 2004 was conducted. Data were obtained through the questionnaire proposed by Locker and Gruska to measure the Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) indicator. ⋯ The prevalence of orofacial pain was 32.2% and the oral impact on daily performance was 28.5%. The regression model indicated that orofacial pain was the only variable statistically associated with the oral impact on daily performance, increasing its prevalence by more than 22 times, compared to those without orofacial pain. It was concluded that the prevalence of orofacial pain was high among workers, representing a decisive factor on the oral impact on daily performance.
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Ciência & saúde coletiva · Aug 2011
[Reflections on and contributions to the Ministry of Health's Integrated Plan on Health Surveillance Actions for People Exposed to Pesticides].
This paper highlights the issue of human and environmental contamination caused by abusive and undue use of pesticides and of its consequences for human health and the environment. It seeks to present reflections on and contributions to the Ministry of Health's Integrated Plan on Health Surveillance Actions for People Exposed to Pesticides arising from the Federal District Assessment and Control Project for Human and Environmental Exposure. The methodology used in this study consisted of reading and analysis of reports from the aforementioned projects, as well as participating in preliminary meetings for drafting the General Coordination Plan for Environmental Health Surveillance and the workshop entitled "The integration of Occupational Health Surveillance and Sanitary Vigilance: the information issue." This was coordinated by the Occupational Health Working Group of the Brazilian Public Health Association and in meetings and workshops of the Federal District Project. The outcome of the discussions suggests that the investigation strategy used is a positive contribution and that the Federal District Project may serve as a pilot project for the Ministry of Health's Integrated Plan.
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Ciência & saúde coletiva · Feb 2011
Historical ArticleAnother vaccine, another story: BCG vaccination against tuberculosis in India, 1948 to 1960.
Through an examination of mass BCG vaccination against tuberculosis in India between 1948 and 1960 this article draws attention to the diversity of the history of vaccination. The features of vaccination campaigns often differed from those of the celebrated campaign to eradicate smallpox. Due to differences between smallpox and tuberculosis as well as between the vaccines developed against them, an analysis of BCG mass vaccination against tuberculosis seems particularly well suited for this purpose. ⋯ First, in non-Western contexts BCG vaccination procedures were modified to a greater extent than vaccination against smallpox. Second, tuberculosis lacked the drama and urgency of smallpox and BCG vaccination campaigns suffered more from recruitment problems than did the more "heroic" smallpox eradication campaign. Third, the BCG vaccine was contested in medical circles and was much better suited than the vaccine against smallpox as a vehicle for the articulation of concerns about post-colonial modernization.
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Ciência & saúde coletiva · Feb 2011
Historical ArticleSmallpox and polio eradication in India: comparative histories and lessons for contemporary policy.
This article argues that a detailed examination of factors contributing to the development of complex structures and strategies for smallpox eradication in South Asia in the 1970s can provide fruitful indications for the reformulation of the national chapters of the global polio eradication programme in this region. There is a magnificent archive in the WHO's Geneva offices, which details how smallpox eradication outbreaks were located and then contained in cities, small towns and remote rural areas in this region, by teams of international workers working closely with local officials. A systematic assessment of the global smallpox eradication efforts indicates parallels between the early stages of the global smallpox eradication programme and the present situation of the polio campaign; as we will see here, it can also provide useful indicators for future action in South Asia and beyond.
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Ciência & saúde coletiva · Aug 2010
[The participation in health councils and its interface with politics culture].
The objective of this paper is to analyse the participation of current health councils in a city in the north-eastern of Brazil and its relationship with local political culture. The following theoretical presumption served as starting point: The practices adopted by health councils initiate a new institution that involves new social actors - the users - in the public sphere. The process of democratisation in the Brazilian society expands this sphere and leads to a confrontation of traditional and democratic political cultures. ⋯ Within the evidence emerged, the dominance of traditional political culture resulted as one of the conditioning elements of participation practices in the Council, expressed in the authoritarianism and cooptation involving municipal managers and representatives of civil society. The majority of counsellors recognises the fragile power of the Council in terms of deliberative and fiscal issues. Despite confirming the frailties of the health councils, it is obvious that their importance in the democratisation of the relationship between State and civil society in the fight for the implementation of the right to health care.