Primary care and children's mental health in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: Primary care offers opportunities to expand children's access to mental health (MH) services, but a given practice's community context and staff attitudes may influence which integration models are feasible. The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using community-based primary care to increase access to MH services in low-income communities in Brazil. METHODS: A qualitative study was undertaken using focus groups with adolescents aged 11 to 16 (n = 46), parents (n = 40), and primary care clinicians and staff (n = 52) from public-sector health centers in 6 low-income Brazilian communities chosen for their geographic diversity. RESULTS: Parents felt they had little support in parenting and attributed much of their children's behavior and mood problems to life in violent, poor communities. Parents thought that primary care could potentially be a source of MH care, but that clinicians often seemed rushed or uninterested. Clinicians classified many child problems as issues with parenting rather than MH. Nonprofessional staff was more likely to be a source of support to parents, except at one center that had a truly integrated MH service. Adolescents reported little need for MH services. CONCLUSIONS: Expanding the role of primary care in child MH may require close attention to how parents, adolescents, and clinicians define their problems and on the causes to which they attribute them. These factors interact with differences in how centers organize MH care, and the extent to which they take advantage of patient interactions with nonprofessional staff.

Breastfeeding and pacifier use in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between pacifier use and the duration of exclusive breast-feeding in the first six months of age, among poor children with unfavourable birth weight, from an underdeveloped region in Brazil. METHOD: Prospective cohort study with infants followed from birth to 6 months of age. Healthy children born with unfavourable birth weight (< 3,000), being exclusively breastfed, were selected from 8 maternity hospitals in the city of Fortaleza (Brazil) between November 1996 and April 1997. Two main outcome measures were used: (i) time to stop exclusive breast-feeding at the 1st and (ii) at the 6th month of life. Main exposures were pacifier use at 1st and 6th month of age. Data were collected at maternity hospitals and during home interviews, using structured questionnaires, by trained data collectors unaware of the study aims, and analyzed using survival analysis and the Cox Proportional Hazard Model. RESULTS: 500 children were enrolled and 13% were lost to follow up at the 1st month. Most of the families had a monthly income less than five times the minimum wage. One third of the mothers were adolescents, one fifth were working outside the home by the 6th month and most attended prenatal care visits. Approximately 60% of the children were using pacifiers by the 1st month. The average number of days for exclusive breast-feeding for pacifier use by the 6th month was 125.3 compared to 87.0 among non-users (p=0.0001). Children using pacifiers were 1,9 more likely to have stopped exclusive breastfeeding by the 6th month compared to non-users, even after controlling potential confounders. CONCLUSION: Pacifier use was associated with the early termination of breast-feeding in Brazil, among poor children with unfavourable birth weight, living in an underdeveloped area. As a possible marker of early weaning, pacifier use can help health workers identify those mothers in need of extended counselling to reinforce breast-feeding practices.

Breastfeeding and pacifier use in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between pacifier use and the duration of exclusive breast-feeding in the first six months of age, among poor children with unfavourable birth weight, from an underdeveloped region in Brazil. METHOD: Prospective cohort study with infants followed from birth to 6 months of age. Healthy children born with unfavourable birth weight (<3,000), being exclusively breastfed, were selected from 8 maternity hospitals in the city of Fortaleza (Brazil) between November 1996 and April 1997. Two main outcome measures were used: (i) time to stop exclusive breast-feeding at the 1st and (ii) at the 6th month of life. Main exposures were pacifier use at 1st and 6th month of age. Data were collected at maternity hospitals and during home interviews, using structured questionnaires, by trained data collectors unaware of the study aims, and analyzed using survival analysis and the Cox Proportional Hazard Model. RESULTS: 500 children were enrolled and 13% were lost to follow up at the 1st month. Most of the families had a monthly income less than five times the minimum wage. One third of the mothers were adolescents, one fifth were working outside the home by the 6th month and most attended prenatal care visits. Approximately 60% of the children were using pacifiers by the 1st month. The average number of days for exclusive breast-feeding for pacifier use by the 6th month was 125.3 compared to 87.0 among non-users (p=0.0001). Children using pacifiers were 1,9 more likely to have stopped exclusive breastfeeding by the 6th month compared to non-users, even after controlling potential confounders. CONCLUSION: Pacifier use was associated with the early termination of breast-feeding in Brazil, among poor children with unfavourable birth weight, living in an underdeveloped area. As, a possible marker of early weaning, pacifier use can help health workers identify those mothers in need of extended counselling to reinforce breast-feeding practices.