Socioeconomic inequities in specialized health services use following COVID-19 in individuals from Southern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Evidence on inequalities in the health services use is important for public policy formulation, even more so in a pandemic context. The aim of this study was to evaluate socioeconomic inequities in the specialized health use services according to health insurance and income, following COVID-19 in individuals residing in Southern Brazil. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional telephone survey with individuals aged 18 years or older diagnosed with symptomatic COVID-19 using the RT-PCR test between December 2020 and March 2021. Questions were asked about attendance at a health care facility following COVID-19, the facilities used, health insurance and income. Inequalities were assessed by the following measures: Slope Index of Inequality (SII) and Concentration Index (CIX). Adjusted analyses were performed using Poisson regression with robust variance adjustment using the Stata 16.1 statistical package. RESULTS: 2,919 people (76.4% of those eligible) were interviewed. Of these, 24.7% (95%CI 23.2; 36.3) used at least one specialized health service and 20.3% (95%CI 18.9; 21.8) had at least one consultation with specialist doctors after diagnosis of COVID-19. Individuals with health insurance were more likely to use specialized services. The probability of using specialized services was up to three times higher among the richest compared to the poorest. CONCLUSIONS: There are socioeconomic inequalities in the specialized services use by individuals following COVID-19 in the far south of Brazil. It is necessary to reduce the difficulty in accessing and using specialized services and to extrapolate the logic that purchasing power transposes health needs. The strengthening of the public health system is essential to guarantee the population's right to health.

[Trends and inequalities in self-reported cervical cancer screening in Brazilian capitals from 2011 to 2020]. / Tendência e desigualdades no rastreamento autorrelatado do câncer de colo de útero nas capitais brasileiras entre 2011 e 2020.

This study aimed to verify the temporal trend and inequalities in self-reported cervical cancer screening in Brazilian capitals from 2011 to 2020. This is a trend study with Risk and Protective Factors Surveillance System for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases Through Telephone Interview (Vigitel) data from 2011 to 2020. The outcome was the prevalence of cytopathological examination in the last three years. Slope index of inequality (SII) and concentration index (CIX) were used to estimate inequalities. An increasing trend in the outcome was observed in Brazil in the period surveyed, as well as a decrease in most regions, capitals, and in all groups according to education. There was a decrease in coverage in most regions of Brazil. We highlight that SII presented its worst results in 2011 and 2012, reaching 15.8p.p. (95%CI: 14.1; 17.6) and 15.0p.p. (95%CI: 13.1; 16.9), respectively, among women with 12 years or more of education. There was a decrease in coverage of cervical cancer screening in most Brazilian regions and capitals from 2011 to 2020. In the period before and during the pandemic, a reduction in the outcome was observed in the South and Southeast regions, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic caused geographical inequalities in the coverage for this exam in Brazil.

Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar a tendência temporal e desigualdades no rastreamento autorrelatado do câncer de colo de útero nas capitais brasileiras entre os anos de 2011 e 2020. Estudo de tendência com dados da Vigilância de Fatores de Risco e Proteção para Doenças Crônicas por Inquérito Telefônico (Vigitel) de 2011 a 2020. O desfecho foi a prevalência de realização de exame citopatológico nos últimos três anos. Para estimar as desigualdades, foram utilizados os índices de desigualdade de inclinação (slope index of inequality - SII) e de concentração (concentration index - CIX). Observou-se tendência crescente do desfecho no país no período pesquisado e queda na maioria das regiões, capitais e em todos os grupos de acordo com escolaridade. Houve uma queda da cobertura na maioria das regiões do Brasil. Destaca-se que o SII apresentou seus piores resultados em 2011 e 2012, alcançando 15,8p.p. (IC95%: 14,1; 17,6) e 15,0p.p. (IC95%: 13,1; 16,9), respectivamente, entre as mulheres com 12 anos ou mais de estudo. Houve queda na cobertura da realização do exame preventivo de câncer de colo de útero na maioria das regiões e capitais brasileiras entre os anos de 2011 e 2020. No período antes e durante a pandemia, houve redução do desfecho no país, nas regiões Sul e Sudeste, sugerindo que a pandemia de COVID-19 acarretou desigualdades geográficas na cobertura desse exame no país.

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo verificar la tendencia temporal y las desigualdades en el seguimiento autoinformado de cáncer de cuello uterino en las capitales brasileñas entre 2011 y 2020. Estudio de tendencias con datos de Vigilancia de Factores de Riesgo y Protección de Enfermedades Crónicas por Encuesta Telefónica (Vigitel) en el período de 2011 a 2020. El desenlace fue la prevalencia del examen citopatológico en los últimos tres años. Para estimar las desigualdades se utilizaron los índices de inequidad absoluto (slope index of inequality - SII) y de concentración (concentration index - CIX). Hubo tendencia a un aumento del desenlace en el período en estudio y un descenso en la mayoría de las regiones, capitales y en todos los grupos según el nivel educativo. Se observó un descenso en la cobertura en la mayoría de las regiones de Brasil. Se destaca que el SII presentó un peor resultado en 2011 y 2012, alcanzando 15,8p.p. (IC95%: 14,1; 17,6) y 15,0p.p. (IC95%: 13,1; 16,9), respectivamente, entre mujeres con 12 años o más de escolaridad. Hubo un descenso en la cobertura de la detección de cáncer de cuello uterino en la mayoría de las regiones y capitales brasileñas entre 2011 y 2020. En el período anterior y durante la pandemia, hubo una reducción en el desenlace para el país, en las regiones Sur y Sudeste, lo que apunta que la pandemia del COVID-19 provocó desigualdades geográficas en la cobertura de este examen a nivel nacional.

Remote work and back pain during the COVID-19 pandemic in adults and older population in South Brazil.

This article aims to investigate the association between remote work and Back Pain during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to analyze this relationship according to the body mass index. Population-based, cross-sectional study carried in two cities in southern Brazil, in individuals aged 18 years and over. Data were collected through household interviews from October to January 2020/21. Outcomes: back pain (cervical, thoracic, lumbar/acute, chronic) and pain intensity. Exposure variable: remote work. For the analyses, Poisson regression with robust adjustment for variance was used, stratified by BMI (eutrophic vs overweight/obese), and restricted to those who had worked in the past month. 1,016 had worked during the pandemic, average 42 years old (SD = 14), varying from 18 to 93 years. Remote work was performed by 7.7% of the individuals. Prevalence of back pain: 25.6% (95%CI: 19.5 to 31.7%). Overweight/obese remote workers felt pain acute cervical pain PR = 2.82 (95%CI: 1.15 to 6.92); chronic low back PR = 1.85 (95%CI: 1.04 to 3.29); acute thoracic PR = 1.81(95%CI: 3.76 to 8.68) compared to those who did not work. About one in four remote workers reported back pain during of the COVID-19 pandemic. BMI proved to be an important moderator between outcomes and exposure variable.

Emergency department use and Artificial Intelligence in Pelotas: design and baseline results.

OBJETIVO: To describe the initial baseline results of a population-based study, as well as a protocol in order to evaluate the performance of different machine learning algorithms with the objective of predicting the demand for urgent and emergency services in a representative sample of adults from the urban area of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. METHODS: The study is entitled "Emergency department use and Artificial Intelligence in PELOTAS (RS) (EAI PELOTAS)" (https://wp.ufpel.edu.br/eaipelotas/). Between September and December 2021, a baseline was carried out with participants. A follow-up was planned to be conducted after 12 months in order to assess the use of urgent and emergency services in the last year. Afterwards, machine learning algorithms will be tested to predict the use of urgent and emergency services over one year. RESULTS: In total, 5,722 participants answered the survey, mostly females (66.8%), with an average age of 50.3 years. The mean number of household people was 2.6. Most of the sample has white skin color and incomplete elementary school or less. Around 30% of the sample has obesity, 14% diabetes, and 39% hypertension. CONCLUSION: The present paper presented a protocol describing the steps that were and will be taken to produce a model capable of predicting the demand for urgent and emergency services in one year among residents of Pelotas, in Rio Grande do Sul state.

rofile and spatial distribution of COVID-19 deaths in the municipality of Rio Grande/RS in 2020 / Perfil e distribuição espacial de óbitos por COVID-19 no município de Rio Grande/RS em 2020

Objetivo: Descrever o perfil de óbitos por COVID-19 no município de Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Metodologia: Trata-se de um estudo transversal, descritivo, com dados oriundos do banco de óbitos da Vigilância Epidemiológica, registrados no período de março a dezembro de 2020. Resultados: Dos 194 óbitos, a maioria era do sexo masculino (63,4%), com 60 anos ou mais (82,5%), de cor da pele branca (82,5%), residentes na região central histórica do município (11,3%). Quanto à ocupação, a maior ocorrência de óbitos foi entre os aposentados (69,5%), seguido por comerciante ou autônomo (17,7%). Com relação às morbidades, 38,7% tinha cardiopatias, 29,4% hipertensão arterial sistêmica, 28,0% diabetes mellitus e praticamente a metade dos indivíduos tinha multimorbidade (49,0%). Conclusões: Com a identificação do perfil de óbitos por COVID-19 no município de Rio Grande no período de março a dezembro de 2020, esses dados podem contribuir para auxiliar os gestores no planejamento de ações estratégicas e educativas de prevenção e combate à COVID-19, principalmente no direcionamento de grupos prioritários nas campanhas de vacinação (AU)

Objective: Describe the COVID-19 death profile in the city of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study using data from the Epidemiological Surveillance service deaths database of deaths notified from March to December 2020. Results: Of the 194 deaths, most were male (63.4%), aged 60 years or more (82.5%), of white skin color (82.5%), and living in the central historic district of the city (11.3%). With regard to occupation, the highest occurrence of deaths was among retirees (69.5%), followed by tradesmen or the self-employed (17.7%). Regarding morbidities, 38.7% had heart disease, 29.4% hypertension, 28.0% diabetes mellitus, and practically half of the individuals had multiple morbidities (49.0%). Conclusions: We identified the profile of COVID-19 deaths in the city of Rio Grande in the period from March to December 2020. These data can help health service managers to plan strategic and educational actions to prevent and combat COVID-19, mainly by targeting priority groups in vaccination campaigns

rofile and spatial distribution of COVID-19 deaths in the municipality of Rio Grande/RS in 2020 / Perfil e distribuição espacial de óbitos por COVID-19 no município de Rio Grande/RS em 2020

Objetivo: Descrever o perfil de óbitos por COVID-19 no município de Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Metodologia: Trata-se de um estudo transversal, descritivo, com dados oriundos do banco de óbitos da Vigilância Epidemiológica, registrados no período de março a dezembro de 2020. Resultados: Dos 194 óbitos, a maioria era do sexo masculino (63,4%), com 60 anos ou mais (82,5%), de cor da pele branca (82,5%), residentes na região central histórica do município (11,3%). Quanto à ocupação, a maior ocorrência de óbitos foi entre os aposentados (69,5%), seguido por comerciante ou autônomo (17,7%). Com relação às morbidades, 38,7% tinha cardiopatias, 29,4% hipertensão arterial sistêmica, 28,0% diabetes mellitus e praticamente a metade dos indivíduos tinha multimorbidade (49,0%). Conclusões: Com a identificação do perfil de óbitos por COVID-19 no município de Rio Grande no período de março a dezembro de 2020, esses dados podem contribuir para auxiliar os gestores no planejamento de ações estratégicas e educativas de prevenção e combate à COVID-19, principalmente no direcionamento de grupos prioritários nas campanhas de vacinação (AU)

Objective: Describe the COVID-19 death profile in the city of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study using data from the Epidemiological Surveillance service deaths database of deaths notified from March to December 2020. Results: Of the 194 deaths, most were male (63.4%), aged 60 years or more (82.5%), of white skin color (82.5%), and living in the central historic district of the city (11.3%). With regard to occupation, the highest occurrence of deaths was among retirees (69.5%), followed by tradesmen or the self-employed (17.7%). Regarding morbidities, 38.7% had heart disease, 29.4% hypertension, 28.0% diabetes mellitus, and practically half of the individuals had multiple morbidities (49.0%). Conclusions: We identified the profile of COVID-19 deaths in the city of Rio Grande in the period from March to December 2020. These data can help health service managers to plan strategic and educational actions to prevent and combat COVID-19, mainly by targeting priority groups in vaccination campaigns