Dependência química em mulheres :um estudo sobre o consumo de medicamentos ansiolíticos no serviço público de saúde de Natal/RN

This work was concerned to investigate the meaning attributed to anxiolytic drugs by women, in public health service. It proposes a joint analysis through a link between three dimensions: the woman, the drug, and public health service itself, in an hegemonic medical assistance model. It is observed that the relation between these elements has a great influence over the use and construction of a particular meaning, by the user. The medication is analysed as a consumption merchandise and as an health symbol. In this way, it reflects a biologized vision, which believes the drug as a solution for all health problems. It tries to analyse the generalized medical prescription for anxiolythics and it s consequences. It focalizes also the production and utilization of public health services by patients, mainly women. The question related to the use of anxiolytics and the meaning construted by women is analysed focusing the way that relations of masculine/feminine gender are organized in our society. At this point of view, it tries to understand the dimension that these questions have in subjectivity production, and how it acts in the health/disease process. Finally, this work tries to understand, in a broad sense, the use of anxiolytics looking at the problem not only as a biological question, but also as a cultural matter. The research was done over seventeen women, all of them anxiolytic users. It was used, as research instrument, semi-structured interview associated with methodological analysis of user s speeches

Use of public oral health services by the adult population: a multilevel analysis

Background It is important to assess context to explain inequalities in oral health, particularly with regard to the type of service used; thus, this study aimed to identify the social determinants of public dental service use by adults and to assess whether, beyond the level individual, existing inequalities are also expressed in the context in which individuals are embedded. Methods A multilevel analysis with three levels of aggregation of variables was performed. The individual variables were derived from the database of the SB Minas Gerais project—a survey of oral health status of the population of Minas Gerais, a state of the Brazilian Southeast region. The variable at the neighborhood level came from the Census of 2010. The variables at the municipal level were obtained from available public databases relating to oral health services. At the municipal level, the Human Development Index (HDI) variable was chosen to represent quality of life in the municipalities. Results In the final model, the following individual variables were associated with greater use of public dental services: lower income (PR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.53; 2.58), higher number of residents at home (PR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.11; 1.68) and higher number of teeth requiring treatment (PR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.20; 1.84). With regard to context variables, a poorer infrastructure (PR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.40; 0.96) leads to a lower use of public services. Conclusion The use of public services is associated with family income, how this income is divided in households, the need for treatment presented by the individual and the organization of the existing oral health service infrastructure in the municipality.