Access to and use of health services as factors associated with neonatal mortality in the North, Northeast, and Vale do Jequitinhonha regions, Brazil / Acesso e utilização de serviços de saúde como fatores associados à mortalidade neonatal no Norte, Nordeste e Vale do Jequitinhonha, Brasil

Abstract Objective To analyze the factors associated with neonatal mortality related to health services accessibility and use. Methods Case-control study of live births in 2008 in small- and medium-sized municipalities in the North, Northeast, and Vale do Jequitinhonha regions, Brazil. A probabilistic sample stratified by region, population size, and information adequacy was generated for the choice of municipalities. Of these, all municipalities with 20,000 inhabitants or less were included in the study (36 municipalities), whereas the remainder were selected according to the probability method proportional to population size, totaling 20 cities with 20,001-50,000 inhabitants and 19 municipalities with 50,001-200,000 inhabitants. All deaths of live births in these cities were included. Controls were randomly sampled, considered as four times the number of cases. The sample size comprised 412 cases and 1772 controls. Hierarchical multiple logistic regression was used for data analysis. Results The risk factors for neonatal death were socioeconomic class D and E (OR = 1.28), history of child death (OR = 1.74), high-risk pregnancy (OR = 4.03), peregrination in antepartum (OR = 1.46), lack of prenatal care (OR = 2.81), absence of professional for the monitoring of labor (OR = 3.34), excessive time waiting for delivery (OR = 1.97), borderline preterm birth (OR = 4.09) and malformation (OR = 13.66). Conclusion These results suggest multiple causes of neonatal mortality, as well as the need to improve access to good quality maternal-child health care services in the assessed places of study.

Resumo Objetivo Analisar fatores associados à mortalidade neonatal referentes ao acesso e à utilização dos serviços de saúde. Métodos Estudo caso-controle de nascidos vivos em 2008 nos municípios de pequeno e médio porte nas regiões Norte, Nordeste e Vale do Jequitinhonha do Brasil. Uma amostra probabilística e estratificada por região, tamanho da população e adequação da informação foi gerada para escolha das cidades. Foram selecionados municípios com até 200.000 habitantes. Desses, todos os municípios com até 20.000 habitantes foram incluídos no estudo (36 municípios), os demais foram selecionados de acordo com o método de probabilidade proporcional ao tamanho populacional, totalizando 20 cidades com 20.001 a 50.000 habitantes e 19 municípios com 50.001 a 200.000 habitantes. Foram incluídos todos os óbitos de nascidos vivos nessas cidades, nesse período. Os controles foram amostrados aleatoriamente quatro vezes mais o número de casos. A amostra foi de 412 casos e 1.772 controles. Foi utilizada regressão logística múltipla hierarquizada para análise dos dados. Resultados Os fatores de risco para o óbito neonatal foram classe socioeconômica D e E (OR = 1,28), história de óbito infantil (OR = 1,74), gestação de risco (OR = 4,03), peregrinação para o parto (OR = 1,46), não realização de pré-natal (OR = 2,81), ausência de profissional para o acompanhamento do trabalho de parto (OR = 3,34), tempo de espera para o atendimento ao parto (OR = 1,97), malformação (OR = 13,66) e prematuridade moderada/limítrofe (OR = 4,09). Conclusão Tais resultados sugerem a multicausalidade da mortalidade neonatal e apontam para necessidade de melhoria ao acesso de serviços voltados à atenção materno-infantil, de qualidade, nos locais do estudo.

Access to and use of health services as factors associated with neonatal mortality in the North, Northeast, and Vale do Jequitinhonha regions, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors associated with neonatal mortality related to health services accessibility and use. METHODS: Case-control study of live births in 2008 in small- and medium-sized municipalities in the North, Northeast, and Vale do Jequitinhonha regions, Brazil. A probabilistic sample stratified by region, population size, and information adequacy was generated for the choice of municipalities. Of these, all municipalities with 20,000 inhabitants or less were included in the study (36 municipalities), whereas the remainder were selected according to the probability method proportional to population size, totaling 20 cities with 20,001-50,000 inhabitants and 19 municipalities with 50,001-200,000 inhabitants. All deaths of live births in these cities were included. Controls were randomly sampled, considered as four times the number of cases. The sample size comprised 412 cases and 1772 controls. Hierarchical multiple logistic regression was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The risk factors for neonatal death were socioeconomic class D and E (OR=1.28), history of child death (OR=1.74), high-risk pregnancy (OR=4.03), peregrination in antepartum (OR=1.46), lack of prenatal care (OR=2.81), absence of professional for the monitoring of labor (OR=3.34), excessive time waiting for delivery (OR=1.97), borderline preterm birth (OR=4.09) and malformation (OR=13.66). CONCLUSION: These results suggest multiple causes of neonatal mortality, as well as the need to improve access to good quality maternal-child health care services in the assessed places of study.

HIV testing in the maternity ward and the start of breastfeeding: a survival analysis / Testagem anti-HIV na maternidade e o início do aleitamento materno: uma análise de sobrevida

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors that influence of the time between birth and the beginning of breastfeeding, especially at the moment of the rapid HIV test results at hospital admission for delivery.METHODS: Cohort study of 932 pregnant women who underwent rapid HIV test admitted in the hospital for delivery in Baby-Friendly Hospitals. The survival curves of time from birth to the first feeding were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and the joint effect of independent variables by the Cox model with a hierarchical analysis. As the survival curves were not homogeneous among the five hospitals, hindering the principle of proportionality of risks, the data were divided into two groups according to the median time of onset of breastfeeding at birth in women undergoing rapid HIV testing.RESULTS: Hospitals with median time to breastfeeding onset at birth of up to 60 min were considered as early breastfeeding onset and those with higher medians were considered as late breastfeeding onset at birth. Risk factors common to hospitals considered to be with early and late breastfeeding onset at birth were: cesarean section (RR = 1.75 [95% CI: 1.38-2.22]; RR = 3.83 [95% CI: 3.03-4.85]) and rapid test result after birth (RR = 1.45 [95% CI: 1.12-1.89]; RR = 1.65 [95% CI: 1.35-2.02]), respectively; and hospitals with late onset: starting prenatal care in the third trimester (RR = 1.86 [95% CI: 1.16-2.97]).CONCLUSIONS: The onset of breastfeeding is postponed, even in Baby-Friendly Hospitals, when the results of the rapid HIV test requested in the maternity are not available at the time of delivery.

OBJETIVO: Identificar os fatores associados ao tempo entre o nascimento e o início da amamentação em mães, especialmente no momento do resultado do teste rápido anti-HIV, na internação para o parto.METODOLOGIA: Estudo de coorte com 932 parturientes que fizeram teste rápido anti-HIV na internação para o parto em Hospitais Amigos da Criança. As curvas de sobrevida do tempo do nascimento até a primeira mamada foram estimadas pelo método Kaplan-Meier e o efeito conjunto das variáveis independentes pelo modelo de Cox, com análise hierarquizada. Como as curvas de sobrevida não foram homogêneas entre os cinco hospitais, o que feriu o princípio de proporcionalidade de riscos, os dados foram desmembrados em dois grupos segundo o tempo mediano de início de aleitamento materno ao nascer em mulheres submetidas ao teste rápido anti-HIV.RESULTADOS: Hospitais com tempo mediano de até 60 minutos foram considerados como hospitais de início precoce do aleitamento materno e hospitais com tempo mediano superior foram considerados como hospitais de início tardio do aleitamento materno ao nascer. Foram fatores de risco comuns aos hospitais com início precoce e tardio do aleitamento materno ao nascer: parto cesáreo [RR = 1,75 (IC95%:1,38-2,22); RR = 3,83 (IC95%:3,03-4,85)] e resultado do teste rápido após o parto [RR = 1,45 (IC95%:1,12-1,89); RR = 1,65 (IC95%:1,35-2,02)], respectivamente; e nos hospitais com início tardio de aleitamento materno ao nascer: iniciar o pré-natal no terceiro trimestre (RR = 1,86 (IC95%:1,16-2,97).CONCLUSÕES: O início do aleitamento materno vem sendo postergado, mesmo em Hospitais Amigos da Criança, quando os resultados do teste rápido anti-HIV solicitados na maternidade não estão disponíveis no momento do parto.

HIV testing in the maternity ward and the start of breastfeeding: a survival analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors that influence of the time between birth and the beginning of breastfeeding, especially at the moment of the rapid HIV test results at hospital admission for delivery. METHODS: Cohort study of 932 pregnant women who underwent rapid HIV test admitted in the hospital for delivery in Baby-Friendly Hospitals. The survival curves of time from birth to the first feeding were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and the joint effect of independent variables by the Cox model with a hierarchical analysis. As the survival curves were not homogeneous among the five hospitals, hindering the principle of proportionality of risks, the data were divided into two groups according to the median time of onset of breastfeeding at birth in women undergoing rapid HIV testing. RESULTS: Hospitals with median time to breastfeeding onset at birth of up to 60 min were considered as early breastfeeding onset and those with higher medians were considered as late breastfeeding onset at birth. Risk factors common to hospitals considered to be with early and late breastfeeding onset at birth were: cesarean section (RR=1.75 [95% CI: 1.38-2.22]; RR=3.83 [95% CI: 3.03-4.85]) and rapid test result after birth (RR=1.45 [95% CI: 1.12-1.89]; RR=1.65 [95% CI: 1.35-2.02]), respectively; and hospitals with late onset: starting prenatal care in the third trimester (RR=1.86 [95% CI: 1.16-2.97]). CONCLUSIONS: The onset of breastfeeding is postponed, even in Baby-Friendly Hospitals, when the results of the rapid HIV test requested in the maternity are not available at the time of delivery.

Were equatorial regions less affected by the 2009 influenza pandemic? The Brazilian experience.

Although it is in the Tropics where nearly half of the world population lives and infectious disease burden is highest, little is known about the impact of influenza pandemics in this area. We investigated the mortality impact of the 2009 influenza pandemic relative to mortality rates from various outcomes in pre-pandemic years throughout a wide range of latitudes encompassing the entire tropical, and part of the subtropical, zone of the Southern Hemisphere (+5(°)N to -35(°)S) by focusing on a country with relatively uniform health care, disease surveillance, immunization and mitigation policies: Brazil. To this end, we analyzed laboratory-confirmed deaths and vital statistics mortality beyond pre-pandemic levels for each Brazilian state. Pneumonia, influenza and respiratory mortality were significantly higher during the pandemic, affecting predominantly adults aged 25 to 65 years. Overall, there were 2,273 and 2,787 additional P&I- and respiratory deaths during the pandemic, corresponding to a 5.2% and 2.7% increase, respectively, over average pre-pandemic annual mortality. However, there was a marked spatial structure in mortality that was independent of socio-demographic indicators and inversely related with income: mortality was progressively lower towards equatorial regions, where low or no difference from pre-pandemic mortality levels was identified. Additionally, the onset of pandemic-associated mortality was progressively delayed in equatorial states. Unexpectedly, there was no additional mortality from circulatory causes. Comparing disease burden reliably across regions is critical in those areas marked by competing health priorities and limited resources. Our results suggest, however, that tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere may have been disproportionally less affected by the pandemic, and that climate may have played a key role in this regard. These findings have a direct bearing on global estimates of pandemic burden and the assessment of the role of immunological, socioeconomic and environmental drivers of the transmissibility and severity of this pandemic.

Confiabilidade da declaraçäo da causa básica de óbitos neonatais: implicaçöes para o estudo da mortalidade prevenível / Reliability of reported underlying causes of neonatal death: implications for the study of preventable mortality

Analisa as principais causas de morte neonatal, a confiabilidade da causa básica constante nas declaraçöes de óbito e o impacto dos problemas de confiabilidade na análise de morte prevenível. A informaçäo constante nas declaraçöes de óbito de uma amostra de 15 por cento dos óbitos neonatais, ocorridos entre maio de 1986 e abril de 1987, na Regiäo Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, é comparada com a dos prontuários hospitalares de 452 crianças falecidas. Identifica no prontuário o diagnóstico, denominado "causa básica modificada", considerada mais correta segundo as regras de classificaçäo de doenças. A grande maioria dos óbitos foram devidos às causas perinatais (87 por cento). A concordância simples entre a causa básica original e a modificada foi baixa - 38 por cento para 3 dígitos da Classificaçäo Internacional de Doenças e 33 por cento para 4 dígitos. As causas básica modificadas mostram maior peso das afecçöes e complicaçöes maternas, com aumento de 12,8 vezes, e das complicaçöes relacionadas com a placenta, cordäo, trabalho de parto ou parto, que aumentaram 6,2 vezes em relaçäo as causas originalmente declaradas. A utilizaçäo da causa básica modificada elevou consideravelmente (58 por cento) o percentual de óbitos considerados "reduzíveis" pela classificaçäo de mortalidade neonatal proposta pela Fundaçäo Sistema Estadual de Análise de Dados. Do total dos óbitos, 75 por cento foram considerados reduzíveis ou parcialmente reduzíveis. Foram identificados 107 (24 por cento) óbitos em crianças com adequado peso ao nascer, 60 por cento dos quais foram considerados como reduzível ou parcialmente reduzível, bem como 4 óbitos por sífilis congênita, 3 por doença hemolítica perinatal, e 21 crianças que vieram a morrer no domicílio. Em conclusäo, foram constatados importantes problemas na confiabilidade da declaraçäo da causa básica de óbitos neonatais, cuja correçäo tende a elevar a proporçäo considerada reduzível ou prevenível. Fica evidente o potencial de utilizaçäo do atestado de óbito para o monitoramento de qualidade, entretanto sendo necessário um aprimoramento da qualidade do seu preenchimento