O trabalho duro e precarizado de trabalhadores(as) do serviço público funerário paulistano durante a pandemia de COVID-19 / The hard and precarious work of São Paulo municipal funeral workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Resumo Introdução: o sistema funerário público paulistano é um dos maiores da América Latina. Durante a pandemia de COVID-19, a cidade de São Paulo, particularmente em 2021, bateu recordes de óbitos e sepultamentos. Tal situação repercutiu significativamente no trabalho desenvolvido pelos servidores públicos vinculados à autarquia. Objetivo: esta investigação objetivou conhecer as condições e situações de trabalho de trabalhadores do serviço funerário municipal paulistano no contexto pandêmico, observando suas repercussões na atividade laboral e na saúde de seus(suas) trabalhadores(as). Métodos: a pesquisa, de abordagem qualitativa, exploratória quanto aos objetivos, fez uso de entrevistas semiestruturadas. Contou com 16 participantes, contatados por critério de acessibilidade, vinculados a diferentes atividades laborais, lotados em dois cemitérios e em um polo administrativo, que trabalharam presencialmente durante a pandemia. Resultados: como resultado de pesquisa, observou-se a acentuação de condições e situações de trabalho precarizadas preexistentes, mas agravadas pela pandemia. Constatou-se recorrente indicação de carga emocional relacionada à atividade laboral, assim como sentimento de desvalorização profissional. Conclusão: destaca-se o fato de ser uma atividade laboral complexa, que requer saberes específicos, muitos deles associados ao trabalho de cuidado, ainda que se evidencie, nos depoimentos, a precarização das condições de trabalho e o sentimento de desvalorização profissional.

Abstract Introduction: the São Paulo municipal funeral industry is one of the biggest in Latin America. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the municipality, particularly in 2021, broke record numbers for deaths and burials. This scenario had major repercussions for public servants of the municipal funeral agency. Objective: to understand working conditions and situations in São Paulo municipal funeral workers during the pandemic, observing its repercussions on work activity and occupational health. Methods: this exploratory qualitative research conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 participants who were contacted by accessibility criteria and linked to different work activities from two cemeteries and a funeral agency and labored in-person during the pandemic. Results: the pandemic worsened the existing precarious working conditions and situations. Participants claimed an emotional burden related to working activities and a feeling of being professionally devalued. Conclusions: work in the funeral industry is a complex activity that requires specific knowledge, much of it regarding care work, despite the evinced precarious working conditions and the feelings of professional devaluation.

Plano estadual de manejo de óbitos para enfrentamento da Covid-19: a experiência da Bahia / State Darth management plan for combating Covid-19: the Bahia experience / Plan estadual de manejo de muertes para enfrentar el Covid-19: la experiencia de Bahia

Os desafios impostos pela pandemia da Covid-19, relacionados a uma alta de letalidade e mortalidade pelo vírus SARS-CoV-2, alertou os gestores sobre a possibilidade de colapso da rede de serviços de manejo de óbitos no estado da Bahia. Este trabalho tem como objetivo descrever a experiência da equipe da vigilância em saúde da Bahia na formulação do Plano de Manejo do Óbito, direcionado a orientar as gestões estadual e municipais e serviços de saúde, públicos e privados, para a implementação de ações adequadas e oportunas frente à ocorrência de óbitos durante a pandemia. Para tanto, utilizou-se de revisão de literatura (em bases de dados internacionais), análise documental, questionários aplicados à gestão municipal e escuta de gestores e trabalhadores de serviços de saúde e afins por meio de webreuniões. O processo de formulação do plano partiu da classificação adotada pela Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde do Ministério da Saúde para definir as fases da pandemia e estabelecer as ações e responsabilidades compartilhadas pelos entes federados. O documento foi aprovado pela Comissão Intergestores Bipartite (CIB) e publicado no site da Secretaria de Saúde do Estado da Bahia (Sesab), com vistas a atender os 417 municípios que compõem o território estadual.

The challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic related to increased lethality and mortality from the SARS-CoV-2 virus alerted managers to the possibility of the collapse of the death management service network in the state of Bahia. Our study aims at describing the experience of the health surveillance team in Bahia in the formulation of the Death Management Plan, aimed at guiding state and municipal management, public and private health services for the implementation of appropriate and timely actions in the face of the occurrence deaths during the pandemic. For such purpose, we used literature review (in international databases), document analysis, questionnaires applied to municipal management and listening to managers and health service workers via web meetings. The process of formulating the Plan started from the classification adopted by the Health Surveillance Department of the Ministry of Health to define the phases of the pandemic and to establish the actions and responsibilities shared by the federated entities. The document was approved by the Bipartite Intergovernmental Commission (CIB) and published on the website of the Department of Health of the State of Bahia (Sesab), to serve the 417 municipalities that make up the state territory.

Los desafíos planteados por la pandemia del covid-19 relacionados con un aumento de la letalidad y mortalidad por el virus SARS-CoV-2 alertaron a los gerentes sobre la posibilidad del colapso de la red de servicios de gestión de muertes en el estado de Bahía. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo describir la experiencia del equipo de vigilancia en salud en Bahía en la formulación del Plan de Manejo de Muertes, destinado a orientar la gestión estadual y municipal, y los servicios de salud públicos y privados para la implementación de acciones adecuadas y oportunas ante las muertes ocurridas durante la pandemia. Para ello, se utilizaron revisión de la literatura (en bases de datos internacionales), análisis de documentos, cuestionarios aplicados a la gestión municipal y escucha a gerentes y trabajadores de servicios de salud y afines por medio de reuniones en línea. El proceso de formulación del Plan partió de la clasificación adoptada por la Secretaría de Vigilancia en Salud del Ministerio de Salud para definir las fases de la pandemia y establecer las acciones y responsabilidades compartidas por las entidades federativas. El documento fue aprobado por la Comisión Intergubernamental Bipartita (CIB) y publicado en el sitio web de la Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Bahía (Sesab), con el objetivo de atender a los 417 municipios que integran el territorio estadual.

Profile of unnatural deaths in a teaching hospital of West Bengal, India

Background: Enquiry into unnatural deaths with all its manners being, suicidal, accidental or homicidal depends on circumstantial evidences for acceptable judgment in court of law. Objectives were to study socio-demographic characteristics of the study and to find out influencing factors, if any, behind these sudden, suspicious, undesirable deaths.Methods: A record-based, descriptive study with cross-sectional design was conducted for first six months of 2017 in NRS medical college hospital among 1603 unnatural deaths undergone police inquest. Besides the records obtained from medical record section, findings were corroborated from mortuary. Data were analyzed in SPSS 22.0 and Epi Info 7.0.Results: Mean age of the deceased was 37.18±17.42 years. Regarding cause of injury, more than 1/3rd (36.6%) was attributed to poisoning, followed by burn injury (24.8%), road traffic accidents (22.8%), fall from height (6.9%) and others the rest. Majority (68.3%) died within twenty hours of reaching the health care facility. More than half of the deceased committed suicide followed by accident and suicide the least. Binary logistic regression revealed, unnatural deaths inflicted by selves or others, i.e. suicide or homicide respectively, had statistically significant (p<0.05) association to productive age, urban residence, burn and RTA, longer survival and conservative nature of management.Conclusions: As suicide was found to comprise lion share of unnatural deaths, development and implementation of addressing the issue at all the levels, starting from individual to community is the need of the hour.

Health hazards at autopsy – A review article.

The postmortem room is a source of potential hazards to the health of forensic experts, pathologists and mortuary technicians. Infectious pathogens in cadavers that present particular risk include mycobacterium tuberculosis, HBV, HCV, HIV and prions that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and gerstmann-strausster-sheinker syndrome (GSS). This review focuses specifically on these hazards associated with the autopsy of infected patients.

Positive autopsy: A case report.

The Postmortem examination of bodies brought to mortuary can be conducted by medical officers or by Forensic experts. Usually this job is conducted by medical officers and in doubtful cases dead body is referred to Department of Forensic Medicine to conduct autopsy. Many a times the medical officer fails to see wounds or injuries, they not able to differentiate antemortem injury from Postmortem injury, sometime they are not able to differentiate hanging from strangulation and in cases of multiple injuries, they are not able to draw opinion regarding cause of death, mode of death and manner of death. At most of time these cases remain unnoticed and unobjectionable but in few cases in which relatives of deceased are not satisfied with Postmortem finding and they demand for Re-Postmortem examination by help of Forensic experts. Most of time Second autopsy is not able to draw any opinion regarding cause of death, mode of death and manner of death because of serious alteration and artifact during First autopsy, but one thing which is always highlighted here that First autopsy was not complete. In this paper is discussed a case report in which the medical officer at a district hospital conducted a Postmortem examination on the dead body of a young male, he has preserved viscera for chemical analysis and he was not able to draw opinion regarding cause of death. Later on Re-Postmortem was conducted at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Govt. Medical College and New Civil Hospital Surat, revealed the cause of death as intracranial hemorrhage.

Current scenario of forensic medicine in India.

The subject of Forensic Medicine provides solutions to some of the most urgent concerns in our society, and focuses on the areas in which medicine and human behaviour interface with the law and acts as a clinical investigator providing a vital liaison between the investigative process and court of law. Till date, no importance has been given for the upliftment of this subject. At many places, the department remains on the most dirtiest and neglected part of the college. In this paper, some problems are highlighted and suggestions have been given for saving the future of this important subject in our country.