The association of neighbourhood and individual social capital with consistent self-rated health: a longitudinal study in Brazilian pregnant and postpartum women.

BACKGROUND: Social conditions, social relationships and neighbourhood environment, the components of social capital, are important determinants of health. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of neighbourhood and individual social capital with consistent self-rated health in women between the first trimester of pregnancy and six months postpartum. METHODS: A multilevel cohort study in 34 neighbourhoods was performed on 685 Brazilian women recruited at antenatal units in two cities in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Self-rated health (SRH) was assessed in the 1st trimester of pregnancy (baseline) and six months after childbirth (follow-up). The participants were divided into two groups: 1. Good SRH--good SRH at baseline and follow-up, and, 2. Poor SRH--poor SRH at baseline and follow-up. Exploratory variables collected at baseline included neighbourhood social capital (neighbourhood-level variable), individual social capital (social support and social networks), demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, health-related behaviours and self-reported diseases. A hierarchical binomial multilevel analysis was performed to test the association between neighbourhood and individual social capital and SRH, adjusted for covariates. RESULTS: The Good SRH group reported higher scores of social support and social networks than the Poor SRH group. Although low neighbourhood social capital was associated with poor SRH in crude analysis, the association was not significant when individual socio-demographic variables were included in the model. In the final model, women reporting poor SRH both at baseline and follow-up had lower levels of social support (positive social interaction) [OR 0.82 (95% CI: 0.73-0.90)] and a lower likelihood of friendship social networks [OR 0.61 (95% CI: 0.37-0.99)] than the Good SRH group. The characteristics that remained associated with poor SRH were low level of schooling, Black and Brown ethnicity, more children, urinary infection and water plumbing outside the house. CONCLUSIONS: Low individual social capital during pregnancy, considered here as social support and social network, was independently associated with poor SRH in women whereas neighbourhood social capital did not affect women's SRH during pregnancy and the months thereafter. From pregnancy and up to six months postpartum, the effect of individual social capital explained better the consistency of SRH over time than neighbourhood social capital

A randomized controlled trial of a protocol of interviews designed to improve adherence to antiretroviral medications in southern Brazil

Summary: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Portuguese version of the Medication Adherence Training Instrument (MATI) for improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ARD in southern Brazil. Two different follow-up modalities were compared in this 225 days randomized controlled study: one based on the MATI protocol and a conventional (non-MATI) clinical follow-up. There were no differences between the groups with the exception of socioeconomic class (P < 0.005). The mean length of continuance in treatment was 111.4 (SD = 13.9) and 137.6 (SD = 17.3) days in the MATI and non-MATI groups, respectively. A Mantel-Cox log-rank test revealed no significant difference between the two interventions (P = 0.34). Despite the sample size limitation, the results from this study indicate that the Portuguese version of the MATI was not more efficacious than the regular follow-up intervention for improving adherence of outpatients to ART

Depressão durante a gestação e os desfechos na saúde do recém-nascido: coorte de mães atendidas em unidade básica de saúde

OBJETIVO: Descrever a associação entre depressão durante a gestação e os efeitos no recém-nascido (baixo peso ao nascer e prematuridade). MÉTODOS: Foi realizado um estudo de coorte, com 100 gestantes atendidas entre março e setembro de 2011 em uma unidade de atenção básica de saúde de Nova Iguaçu. As gestantes responderam sobre características sociodemográficas, condições médicas/obstétricas, eventos estressantes e apoio social. A depressão foi avaliada por meio do Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Após o período do pós-parto, as mães responderam às questões sobre baixo peso e prematuridade ao nascer. RESULTADOS: A prevalência da depressão na gravidez foi de 18% (IC95%: 12,2-23,8). Fatores associados com desfecho neonatal foram depressão gestacional (OR: 6,60 IC: 1,51-28,91) e uso de álcool (OR: 8,75 IC: 1,10-69,71). CONCLUSÃO: As implicações do presente estudo para a prática enfatizam a necessidade de triagem para depressão durante a gestação