[Quality evaluation of primary health care in an urban area of southern Brazil]. / Avaliação da qualidade de assistência primária à saúde em localidade urbana da região sul do Brasil.

A 10% sample of patients who attended two Primary Health Care Units (PHCU) in Pelotas, RS (Brazil) was studied cross-sectionally for the purpose of measuring qualitatively the attention being offered to the population. According to domicilliar interviews, 15 days after their appointments, a solution (cure or improvement) was achieved in 87.9% of the patients. Patients or parents satisfaction (in the case of pediatric patients) was observed in nearly 90% of the sample. Patient satisfaction and solution were statistically associated (p = 0.04). Association between the solution and the availability of medicines in the PHCU was observed. Patients who had received the whole or a part of their treatment had 33% greater probability of solving their problem. Professional satisfaction was linearly associated with both perception of a better professional-patient relationship (PR = 3.48; CI95%2.17-5.59) and the expectation of a better patient prognosis (PR = 1.99; CI95%1.36-2.91).

[Determining factors of smoking habit and its cessation during pregnancy in a urban locality in the southern region of Brazil]. / Determinantes do hábito de fumar e de seu abandono durante a gestação em localidade urbana na região sul do Brasil.

A cross-sectional study of 873 pregnant women attending a prenatal care clinic was undertaken in Pelotas (Southern Brazil), over a one-year period (1989-90) for the purpose of identifying possible risk and prognostic factors for smoking during pregnancy. The prevalence of smoking at the beginning of pregnancy was 40.8%. The smoking habits of the woman's mother and partner, as well as her educational level, were associated with smoking at the beginning of pregnancy. Smoking in the partner was associated with an approximately two-fold increase in the risk of smoking. The smoking interruption rate, until the 15th-22nd gestational week, was of 35.6%. Family income, smoking habits of woman's mother and partner, age at starting, duration and intensity of the woman's habit were all associated with the interruption during pregnancy. The above results were not affected by adjustment for confounding variables made through stratified analysis.