Access can be understood as the sum of a number of elements of the interface between patients and the health care system. This study took a comprehensive approach to the dimensions of access to medications, employing ...Access can be understood as the sum of a number of elements of the interface between patients and the health care system. This study took a comprehensive approach to the dimensions of access to medications, employing indicators to evaluate the dimensions of access to antihypertensive medications in Ceilandia, DF, Brazil. This was a cross-sectional epidemiological study, administering questionnaires during home visits. The survey covered epidemiological and socioeconomic profiles, behavioral habits and the dimensions of access to antihypertensive medications comprising physical, financial, and geographic availability and accept ability according to the hypertensive population of Ceilandia. The total sample comprised 400 individuals and the hypertensive subset numbered 140 (35%). Indicators of physical availability of medications revealed that users found it difficult to acquire their drugs on almost one third of occasions and in some cases were unable to access any of these products. The greatest barriers to access were reported by users of pharmacies belonging to the Brazilian National Health Service (SUS) and on the “People’s Pharmacies” network. More than one third of the hypertensive sample spent their own money on medications they could not find at these pharmacies. The majority of the hypertensive subsets were overweight/obese, a minority engaged in physical activity and 40% were smokers/ex-smokers. More women reduced their salt intake. Men had higher incomes, educational level, and socioeconomic status. Failure to keep the public health care system supplied has prejudiced access to essential medications for hypertension treatment, transferring the costs onto users. This population has lifestyle habits that increase the risk of exacerbation of hypertension. These results reveal a need for effective public policies to ensure access to antihypertensive medications and involve users of the health care system in changing their habits and behaviors in order to achieve adequate and lasting control of systemic arterial hypertension.展开更多
The maintenance of high cognitive performance in old age has increasingly become a public health interest due to associations between cognition,well-being,longevity,and autonomy.The objective of the research is to inv...The maintenance of high cognitive performance in old age has increasingly become a public health interest due to associations between cognition,well-being,longevity,and autonomy.The objective of the research is to investigate cognitive,physical,and psychological trajectories of neurotypical older adults(NOAs)and high performing older adults(HPOAs).An exploratory study to investigate 21 NOAs and six HPOAs(mean age 71,SD=±3.59),followed up for one year.The older adults were submitted to physical fitness,quality of life,anxiety,depression,RAVLT,ACE-R,and Stroop tests,being assessed at three moments:baseline,six months after the cognitive(MEMO)or stimulation(Stimullus)interventions,and six months after the multimodal interventions,which could be physical or psychopedagogical interventions(health education lectures).Nonparametric statistical tests(Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon)were performed with p≤0.05.The results demonstrated that the cognitive measures were good predictors of cognitive performance and we observed positive correlations between cognitive and mood measures.The older adults with high performance had a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms.There were gains in global cognitive performance,mood,and in physical fitness variables associated with multimodal interventions,evident in the neurotypical group.展开更多
文摘Access can be understood as the sum of a number of elements of the interface between patients and the health care system. This study took a comprehensive approach to the dimensions of access to medications, employing indicators to evaluate the dimensions of access to antihypertensive medications in Ceilandia, DF, Brazil. This was a cross-sectional epidemiological study, administering questionnaires during home visits. The survey covered epidemiological and socioeconomic profiles, behavioral habits and the dimensions of access to antihypertensive medications comprising physical, financial, and geographic availability and accept ability according to the hypertensive population of Ceilandia. The total sample comprised 400 individuals and the hypertensive subset numbered 140 (35%). Indicators of physical availability of medications revealed that users found it difficult to acquire their drugs on almost one third of occasions and in some cases were unable to access any of these products. The greatest barriers to access were reported by users of pharmacies belonging to the Brazilian National Health Service (SUS) and on the “People’s Pharmacies” network. More than one third of the hypertensive sample spent their own money on medications they could not find at these pharmacies. The majority of the hypertensive subsets were overweight/obese, a minority engaged in physical activity and 40% were smokers/ex-smokers. More women reduced their salt intake. Men had higher incomes, educational level, and socioeconomic status. Failure to keep the public health care system supplied has prejudiced access to essential medications for hypertension treatment, transferring the costs onto users. This population has lifestyle habits that increase the risk of exacerbation of hypertension. These results reveal a need for effective public policies to ensure access to antihypertensive medications and involve users of the health care system in changing their habits and behaviors in order to achieve adequate and lasting control of systemic arterial hypertension.
基金Isabelle PatriciáFreitas Soares Chariglione received financial support from the Fundação de Apoio e Pesquisa do Distrito Federal(FAPDF)-Process:0193-001-227/2016.
文摘The maintenance of high cognitive performance in old age has increasingly become a public health interest due to associations between cognition,well-being,longevity,and autonomy.The objective of the research is to investigate cognitive,physical,and psychological trajectories of neurotypical older adults(NOAs)and high performing older adults(HPOAs).An exploratory study to investigate 21 NOAs and six HPOAs(mean age 71,SD=±3.59),followed up for one year.The older adults were submitted to physical fitness,quality of life,anxiety,depression,RAVLT,ACE-R,and Stroop tests,being assessed at three moments:baseline,six months after the cognitive(MEMO)or stimulation(Stimullus)interventions,and six months after the multimodal interventions,which could be physical or psychopedagogical interventions(health education lectures).Nonparametric statistical tests(Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon)were performed with p≤0.05.The results demonstrated that the cognitive measures were good predictors of cognitive performance and we observed positive correlations between cognitive and mood measures.The older adults with high performance had a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms.There were gains in global cognitive performance,mood,and in physical fitness variables associated with multimodal interventions,evident in the neurotypical group.
