[Spatial patterns of tuberculosis and its association with living conditions in the city of Ribeirão Preto in the state of São Paulo]. / Padrões espaciais da tuberculose e sua associação à condição de vida no município de Ribeirão Preto.

This study, with a hybrid, ecological and time-tendency design, sought to establish the relation between the spatial correlation in the occurrence of new cases of TB in the year 2000 and to ascertain the association between living conditions and TB distribution in Ribeirão Preto, State of São Paulo, between 2000 and 2006. The thematic maps were elaborated with the help of MapInfo 7.5 and spatial statistical analysis using Spring 4.3. For the remaining calculations, SPSS 10.0 was used. The indices with the highest factor loads were family heads earning 2 minimum wages or less and with less than 3 years of education. The comparison of the living conditions and TB maps revealed a relation between TB and poorer areas in the city, as the incidence rate in the cluster with poor living conditions was 49.9/100,000 inhabitants. The gross Chance Ratio, considering the cluster with the high living conditions as a reference, proved the association between TB and living conditions and 3.30 for the low living conditions cluster (CR=3.30; CI95%: 1.90-5.70). The city's stratification according to living conditions and incidence of TB allowed for the identification of risk areas, providing input for the local TB Control Program.

[Spatial distribution of endemic diseases in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State]. / Distribuição espacial de doenças endêmicas no município de Ribeirão Preto (SP).

The perception that some diseases happen in certain places is old. The concern in studying the relation between the human being and the environment resulted in several studies of medical geography, directed to the analysis of diseases spatial distribution. This sectional study was carried out in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, and aimed to illustrate, through health problems (dengue, leprosy and tuberculosis), how a Geographic Information System tool allows the identification of heterogeneous areas, providing support for the choice of strategies and specific interventions according to the need of residents, as well as, priority of resources to more vulnerable groups. The population comprised cases of dengue, leprosy and tuberculosis notified in Ribeirão Preto in 2000. Data were collected in the Health Secretary Epidemiological Surveillance of the city. In order to obtain the thematic maps, data were geo-codified with the software MapInfo 7.8 e Spring 4.3. The thematic maps showed the density distribution of dengue, leprosy and tuberculosis cases in the city as a way to complement the analysis of health information, pointing priority areas for the control of these diseases.

[Temporal evolution of dengue fever in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, 1994-2003]. / Evolução temporal da dengue no município de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, 1994 a 2003.

This epidemiological-descriptive study aimed to describe the temporal evolution of dengue cases in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, between 1994 and 2003, according to month of occurrence and gender. Data were obtained from the compulsory notification forms provided by the Epidemiological Surveillance service of the Ribeirão Preto Municipal Health Secretary. We obtained incidence coefficients per 100,000 inhabitants, according to population estimates by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The city experienced a dengue epidemic in 2001, when the incidence coefficient reached 619.65 cases/100,000 inhabitants. We found 5553 cases during the study period, 0.07% of which occurred in 1994, 3.68% in 1995, 4.52% in 1996, 2.40% in 1997, 1.82% in 1998, 5.73% in 1999, 3.75% in 2000, 57.37% in 2001, 6.25% in 2002 and 14.39% in 2003. January to May were the months with the highest occurrence levels. As to the gender variable, we found a proportion of approximately 1:1, showing small fluctuations between men and women for dengue cases during the entire study period. Results indicate the need to study the theme and reinforce the role of teaching institutions to tackle dengue in Brazil.

[Master sample and geoprocessing: technologies for household surveys]. / Amostra mestra e geoprocessamento: tecnologias para inquéritos domiciliares.

OBJECTIVE: To reduce cost and time associated with household sampling process and to assess the feasibility of shared use of address data file of census enumeration areas in several epidemiological surveys using updated information from the National Survey of Households (PNAD). METHODS: Address data file comprising 72 census enumeration areas was kept as primary sampling units for the city of S o Paulo. During the period 1995-2000, three distinct household samples were drawn using the two-stage cluster sampling procedure. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology allowed delimiting boundaries, blocks and streets for any primary sampling unit and printing updated maps for selected sub-samples. RESULTS: Twenty-five thousand dwellings made up the permanent address data file of the master sample. A cheaper and quicker selection of each sample, plus gathering information on demographic and topographical profiles of census enumeration areas were the main contribution of the study results. CONCLUSIONS: The master sample concept, integrated with GIS technology, is an advantageous alternative sampling design for household surveys in urban areas. Using the list of addresses from the PNAD updated yearly, although limiting its application to the most populated Brazilian cities, avoids the need of creating an independent sampling procedure for each individual survey carried out in the period between demographic censuses, and it is an important contribution for planning sampling surveys in public health.