Childbirth care: the oral history of women who gave birth from the 1940s to 1980s

This study's objective was to gain a greater understanding of the changes that took place in the childbirth care model from the experience of women who gave birth in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil from the 1940s to the 1980s. This is a descriptive study conducted with 20 women using the Thematic Oral History method. Data were collected through unstructured interviews. The theme extracted from the interviews was "The experience of childbirth". The results indicate a time and generational demarcation in the 1970s. Childbirths from 1940 to 1960 occurred in a context of transition from home to hospital births. The 1980s represents a turning point in the elements that compose the childbirth care model, such as the type and place of birth and the professional assisting women, with an increased use of technology and obstetric interventions

A prática da enfermeira em auditoria em saúde

O objetivo da investigação foi conhecer a prática da enfermeira em auditoria em saúde. A concepção de análise adotada foi a da hermenêutica-dialética, e foi desenvolvida em três lócus: a auditoria interna de uma organização hospitalar; a auditoria externa de um comprador privado de serviços de saúde, e o sistema de auditoria do âmbito estadual do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), na Bahia. Foram entrevistadas nove enfermeiras auditoras. Na auditoria do SUS, as enfermeiras expressaram satisfação no exercício desta prática e valorização de seu papel profissional. Na auditoria privada - interna e externa às organizações de saúde - as ações das enfermeiras se direcionam para atender aos interesses de seus contratantes, e pouco se relacionam com a assistência prestada pela equipe de enfermagem e com as necessidades dos usuários dos serviços.El objetivo de la investigación es conocer la práctica de la enfermera en la auditoría de salud. La concepción de análisis adoptada fue la de la hermenéutica-dialéctica, y se desarrolló en tres locales: la auditoría interna de una organización hospitalaria, la auditoría externa de un comprador privado de servicios de salud y el sistema de auditoría del ámbito estatal del Sistema Único de Salud (SUS) en Bahía, Brasil. Fueron entrevistadas nueve enfermeras auditoras. En la auditoría del SUS, las enfermeras expresaron satisfacción en el ejercicio de esta práctica y en la valorización de su papel profesional. En la auditoría privada - interna y externa a las organizaciones de salud - las acciones de las enfermeras están dirigidas a atender los intereses de sus contratantes, y poco se relacionan con la asistencia prestada por el equipo de enfermería y con las necesidades de los usuarios de los servicios.The objective of this investigation was to identify nurses' practice in heath audit. The hermeneutic-dialectic method was used for the analysis. The study was performed in three loci: the internal audit service of a hospital; the external audit service of a private health service buyer, and the state audit service of the public health system (SUS, acronym in Portuguese for Sistema Único de Saúde - Unique Health System), in Bahia. Nine audit nurses were interviewed. In the SUS audit, the nurses report being fulfilled with their practice and with the valorization of their professional role. In the private audit - both inside and outside of health organizations - the nurses' activities are focused on meeting the interests of their contractors, and do not get much involved with the care delivered by the nursing team and with the needs of service users

Health services performance for TB treatment in Brazil: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Researches to evaluate Primary Health Care performance in TB control in Brazil show that different cities aggregate local specificities in the dynamics of coping with the disease. This study aims to evaluate health services' performance in TB treatment in cities across different Brazilian regions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This cross-sectional study was conducted in five cities that are considered priorities for TB control in Brazil: Itaboraí (ITA), Ribeirão Preto (RP) and São José do Rio Preto (SJRP) in the Southeast; Campina Grande (CG) and Feira de Santana (FS) in the Northeast. Data were collected through interviews with 514 TB patients under treatment in 2007, using the <it>Primary Care Assessment Tool </it>adapted for TB care in Brazil. Indicators were constructed based on the mean response scores (Likert scale) and compared among the study sites.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>"Access to treatment" was evaluated as satisfactory in the Southeast and regular in the Northeast, which displayed poor results on 'home visits' and 'distance between treatment site and patient's house'. "Bond" was assessed as satisfactory in all cities, with a slightly better performance in RP and SJRP. "Range of services" was rated as regular, with better performance of southeastern cities. 'Health education', 'DOT' and 'food vouchers' were less offered in the Northeast. "Coordination" was evaluated as satisfactory in all cities. "Family focus" was evaluated as satisfactory in RP and SJRP, and regular in the others. 'Professional asking patient's family about other health problems' was evaluated as unsatisfactory, except in RP.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Two types of obstacles are faced for health service performance in TB treatment in the cities under analysis, mainly in the Northeast. The first is structural and derives from difficulties to access health services and actions. The second is organizational and derives from the way health technologies and services are distributed and integrated. Incentives to improve care organization and management practices, aimed at the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary services, can contribute towards a better performance of health services in TB treatment.</p