Accountability and co-production of information and control: social observatories and their relationship with government agencies

Abstract:Through the development of a proposal to categorize accountability into four stages - classical, cross-sectional, systemic, and diffused -, this article aims to identify characteristics of co-production of information and socio-political control of public administration in the work of Brazilian social observatories in relationship with government control agencies. The study analyses data from 20 social observatories and, particularly, three experiences of co-production of information and control, based on a systemic perspective on accountability and a model with four categories: Political and cultural; valuing; systemic-organizational, and production. The conclusions summarize characteristics of these practices, specific phases in the accountability processes, as well as the potentialities and challenges of co-production of information and control, which not only influences, but it is also influenced by the accountability system.

INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF CONSUMING FRUIT ON CONSUMER PREFERENCES IN TEMUCO, REGION OF THE ARAUCANÍA

ABSTRACT With the aim of identifying strategies to increase fruit consumption in Temuco, consumer segments were classified according to the importance and preference of theattributes type of fruit, package/ brand, benefit associated with fruit consumption and price. A survey was applied to 400 people in Temuco,Chile, distributed using a simple allocation: 200 working adults and 200university students. The questionnaire included the SWFL (Satisfaction with Food-related Life) scale, respondents’ fruit consumption habits and their characteristics. Using conjoint and cluster analyses, three segments were distinguished: Group 1 (22.0%) gave greatest importance to the package/brand and preferred themessage “prevents diseases” and “without information”; Group 2 (47.5%) gave greatest importance to the package/brand and preferred the message “prevents diseases”; Group 3 (30.5%) assigned greatest importance to the price and preferred the message “contains antioxidants”. The segments differed in their level of satisfaction with food-related life, self-declared lifestyle, age and presence of university students. The results provide input to promote fruit consumption in working adults and university students.

Construction of an index of information from clinical practice in Radiology and Imaging Diagnosis based on text mining and thesaurus

Objective To construct a Portuguese language index of information on the practice of diagnostic radiology in order to improve the standardization of the medical language and terminology. Materials and Methods A total of 61,461 definitive reports were collected from the database of the Radiology Information System at Hospital das Clínicas – Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (RIS/HCFMRP) as follows: 30,000 chest x-ray reports; 27,000 mammography reports; and 4,461 thyroid ultrasonography reports. The text mining technique was applied for the selection of terms, and the ANSI/NISO Z39.19-2005 standard was utilized to construct the index based on a thesaurus structure. The system was created in *html. Results The text mining resulted in a set of 358,236 (n = 100%) words. Out of this total, 76,347 (n = 21%) terms were selected to form the index. Such terms refer to anatomical pathology description, imaging techniques, equipment, type of study and some other composite terms. The index system was developed with 78,538 *html web pages. Conclusion The utilization of text mining on a radiological reports database has allowed the construction of a lexical system in Portuguese language consistent with the clinical practice in Radiology.

Response rate in the Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents – ERICA

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To describe the response rate and characteristics of people who either took part or not in from the Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA) , according to information subsets. METHODS ERICA is a school-based, nation-wide investigation with a representative sample of 12 to 17-year-old adolescents attending public or private schools in municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants in Brazil. Response rate of eligible subjects were calculated according to macro-regions, sex, age, and type of school (public or private). We also calculated the percentages of replacement schools in comparison with the ones originally selected as per the sample design, according to the types of schools in the macro-regions. The subjects and non-subjects were compared according to sex, age, and average body mass indices (kg/m2). RESULTS We had 102,327 eligible adolescents enrolled in the groups drawn. The highest percentage of complete information was obtained for the subset of the questionnaire (72.9%). Complete information regarding anthropometric measurements and the ones from the questionnaire were obtained for 72.0% of the adolescents, and the combination of these data with the 24-hour dietary recall were obtained for 70.3% of the adolescents. Complete information from the questionnaire plus biochemical blood evaluation data were obtained for 52.5% of the morning session adolescents (selected for blood tests). The response percentage in private schools was higher than the one in public schools for most of the combination of information. The ratio of older and male adolescents non-participants was higher than the ratio among participants. CONCLUSIONS The response rate for non-invasive procedures was high. The response rate for blood collection – an invasive procedure that requires a 12-hour fasting period and the informed consent form from legal guardians – was lower. The response rate observed in public schools was lower than in the private ones, and that may reflect lower school frequency of registered students.

Human toxocariasis: a seroepidemiological survey in schoolchildren of Sorocaba, Brazil

A seroepidemiological survey for toxocariasis, among 180 schoolchildren of the public schools of Sorocaba City, state of São Paulo, Brazil, was carried out from August 2000 to July 2001. ELISA test was performed using excretory and secretory antigens for the detection of IgG anti-Toxocara antibodies. Information regarding the children was obtained from the parents or legal guardians. The results showed that the mean age was 5.4 ± 1.4 years, the infection coefficient (IC) was 38.3 and the infection risk was higher among the children living in the city outskirts (IC = 47.4) where the socioeconomic conditions were worse than in the central region of the city (IC = 11.1). There was an association between higher frequency of seroreactivity in the ELISA test and the condition of living in a house with a yard and/or unpaved street. The same was observed in relation to a history of enteroparasitism. There was also an association between a seronegative ELISA test and previous treatment of pet dogs and/or cats with vermifuge. Based on these results, the authors propose that public health programs should include anthelmintic for dogs and cats during the antirabies vaccination campaigns, in order to diminish environmental contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs and consequently human infection.

Importance of multidisciplinary trauma prevention program for youth

OBJECTIVE: present the experience of the P.A.R.T.Y. program in Campinas, thereby changing the habits of young people.METHODS: The organizers visited the participating schools talking to the students, who are aged between 14-18 years. These students spent an afternoon at the Clinics Hospital of Unicamp, where, for four hours, they attended lectures of the organizers, partners and municipal sectors, and also visited the hospital, talking with trauma victims. Questionnaires were evaluated between2010-2012, being applied before and after the project.RESULTS:2,450 high school students attended the program. The mean age is 16 ± 0,99 years and 37.6% were male. 3.6% of males already drive while drunk versus 0.8% of women. Before the project 116 (11.3%) thought that drunk driving wasn't a risk, and only 37 (3.6%) knew the alcohol effects. After the project, 441 (43%) began to consider drunk driving a risk and 193 (18.8%) know the alcohol effects when driving. 956 (93.3%) considered that prevention projects have a huge impact on their formation.CONCLUSION: It's expected that the attendees will act as multipliers of information, conveying the message of prevention to their entire social circles resulting in reduction in the number of trauma events involving the young, in the long term.