Using computer and internet-based resources to teach health care planning and administration in an undergraduate medical program.

OBJECTIVE: We describe the teaching methods, involving computer and Internet-based resources, used in the "Administration and Planning in Health Care" course of the undergraduate medical program at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. METHOD: Description on how the curriculum guidelines for the undergraduate medical education in Brazil have been implemented at this university. The guidelines specify that graduates should be skilled and knowledgeable in health care administration and management, understand the market dynamics of health care services, and be prepared to contribute to the development of health policy. RESULTS: A required 60-hour course provides students with an opportunity to learn about the structure, planning and administration of the Brazilian and of other health care systems, and their roles, as health care professionals, within those systems. The course is also intended to allow students to develop the minimal skill set required for manipulation of health care data available from national and international databases, and to use the Internet as a source of information in health care. The curriculum includes: Module 1 - basic computer skills, an introduction to networks as an infrastructure for management, the use of spreadsheets and databases for data processing and system modelling, retrieval of Internet-based health data and on-line bibliographic searches; Module 2 - health system financing and service quality management, using a university hospital as a case study; and Module 3 - a comparison of the Brazilian public health care system (SUS) with other national health systems resulting in a term paper formatted for journal submission and presented at a simulated conference at the end of the course. CONCLUSION: Progressive shift in emphasis from theory to practice in this course has resulted in better development of the skill set required for the students.

Morphometric and allometric study of the mouse exocrine pancreas growth during the postnatal life.

Postnatal mouse pancreas growth was submitted to allometric analysis by the Wald nonparametric method, modified by Bartlett. The body and gland mass were obtained and the total cell number and the absolute compartmental volumes of acini, ducts and stroma were evaluated by morphometric methods. The allometric coefficients were calculated for the growths between the following parameters: a) pancreatic mass and body mass; b) acinar compartmental volume and body mass; c) ductal compartmental volume and body mass; d) stroma volume and body mass; e) total cell number and body mass; and f) acinar volume and stroma volume. The results of these analysis showed that the pancreatic mass, total cell number and stroma volume exhibited statistically significant allometric growths with a monophasic pattern and allometric coefficients of 1.56, 1.27 and 1.29, respectively, for the periods of 2 to 70, 2 to 28 and 2 to 70 days of age; while the growth of compartmental acinar volume in relation to body mass and compartmental stroma volume was biphasic. In the first case, the 1st phase occurred between 2 to 14 days (K = 1.09) and the 2nd phase between 14 to 70 days (K = 1.44) and in the second case, the 1st and 2nd phases occurred, respectively, between 2 to 28 days (K = 1.31) and 28 to 70 days (K = 0.79) of age. The growth of ductal volume in relation to body mass was also biphasic with a 1st phase between 2 to 14 days (K = 0.88) and a 2nd phase between 14 to 70 days (K = 1.07). These results permitted us to conclude that the growth of the mouse pancreas is allometrically associated with the growth of body mass.

[Prevalence of CAGE-positive secondary school students in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 1994] / Prevalência de CAGE positivo entre estudantes de segundo grau de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, 1994.

This study aims to describe the prevalence of CAGE-positive third-year high school students in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, in 1994. The sample consisted of 1,171 students: 598 (51%) from public and 573 (49%) from private schools. We found reference to previous alcoholic beverage consumption in 93% of the interviewees. The highest prevalence was among male students (p<0.02) and students from private schools (p<0.03). Half of the students reported weekly consumption, usually when going to parties (60%) and bars (17%). CAGE positiveness prevalence was 8.3% overall and 11% among males (p<0.02). When variables like gender, age, and socioeconomic status were controlled, there was no statistically significant difference between the kind of school and CAGE status.

[Traffic accidents in a metropolitan area of southern Brazil--victim and lesion characterization]. / Acidentes de trânsito em área metropolitana da região sul do Brasil--caracterização da vítima e das lesões.

Casualties treated in a Emergency Hospital of Porto Alegre, Brazil, during the year 1988, for injuries received as a result of traffic accidents, are described by means of a retrospective study of the data provided by the Documentation and Statistics Sector of the hospital (n = 6.099). The results, similar to those described in the literature, draw special attention to the predominance of the male sex (69.2%), to the concentration of accidents involving individuals of between 20 and 39 years of age, inclusive, (52%) and to the frequency which the head is injured (49.6%) of the patients. Severe injuries such as bruises and fractures were found, respectively, in 61.5% and 24.2% of the patients. The data reveal, further, the large number and the seriousness of the injuries caused by accidents involving pedestrians which accounted for 32.7% of the total number of attendances related to traffic accidents, 57.2% of hospital internments; 54.6% of the victims of this kind of accident were under 9 years of age and 42.8% were over 60.

[Smoking prevalence among students from a metropolitan area in the southern region of Brazil, 1991]. / Prevalência de tabagismo entre escolares em município de area metropolitana da região sul, Brasil, 1991.

A prevalence study on smoking habits was carried out in 1991, among 864 school children from eight municipal schools in Sapiranga, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from the 6th through 8th grade of primary school. Data was collected in class, using a questionnaire applied by trained teachers. Among students, 3.2% were smokers, although 20.3% had been exposed to tobacco. Males had begun the smoking habit at a mean age of 14.7 years and females at about 15 years old. The prevalence showed an increasing trend by age and individual school grade. As for gender, male smokers outnumbered females (p < 0,05). Smoking by older brothers and fathers seems to be positively associated with acquisition of the habit by school children.

[Analysis of the completion of death certificates in a locality of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), 1987]. / Análise do preenchimento de declarações de óbitos em localidade do estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil), 1987.

It was analyzed the quality of death certificate information for deaths registered in Viamão county (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) during 1987, considering unfilled blanks, and unknown and incorrect responses. Small omissions were found in data identifying the person who had died; larger omissions in data concerning social and obstetric history, medical assistance, and violent deaths. To improve the quality of death certificate information it was suggested that physicians be continually reminded of the importance of giving the correct information on death certificates to allow for their later adequate administrative and research use.