High-performance infrared narrow-bandpass filters for the Indian National Satellite System meteorological instrument (INSAT-3D)

This paper describes the design and manufacture of a set of precision cooled (210K) narrow-bandpass filters for the infrared imager and sounder on the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) INSAT-3D meteorological satellite. We discuss the basis for the choice of multilayer coating designs and materials for 21 differing filter channels, together with their temperature-dependence, thin film deposition technologies, substrate metrology, and environmental durability performance. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.

Healthcare providers in the English National Health Service: public, private or hybrids?

In recent years it has been noted that boundaries between public and private providers of many types of welfare have become blurred. This paper uses three dimensions of publicness to analyse this blurring of boundaries in relation to providers of healthcare in England. The authors find that, although most care is still funded and provided by the state, there are significant additional factors in respect of ownership and social control which indicate that many English healthcare providers are better understood as hybrids. Furthermore, the authors raise concerns about the possible deleterious effects of diminishing aspects of publicness on English healthcare. The most important of these is a decrease in accountability

Health system context and implementation of evidence-based practices-development and validation of the Context Assessment for Community Health (COACH) tool for low- and middle-income settings

Background: The gap between what is known and what is practiced results in health service users not benefitting from advances in healthcare, and in unnecessary costs. A supportive context is considered a key element for successful implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP). There were no tools available for the systematic mapping of aspects of organizational context influencing the implementation of EBPs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Thus, this project aimed to develop and psychometrically validate a tool for this purpose. Methods: The development of the Context Assessment for Community Health (COACH) tool was premised on the context dimension in the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework, and is a derivative product of the Alberta Context Tool. Its development was undertaken in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Uganda, South Africa and Nicaragua in six phases: (1) defining dimensions and draft tool development, (2) content validity amongst in-country expert panels, (3) content validity amongst international experts, (4) response process validity, (5) translation and (6) evaluation of psychometric properties amongst 690 health workers in the five countries. Results: The tool was validated for use amongst physicians, nurse/midwives and community health workers. The six phases of development resulted in a good fit between the theoretical dimensions of the COACH tool and its psychometric properties. The tool has 49 items measuring eight aspects of context: Resources, Community engagement, Commitment to work, Informal payment, Leadership, Work culture, Monitoring services for action and Sources of knowledge. Conclusions: Aspects of organizational context that were identified as influencing the implementation of EBPs in high-income settings were also found to be relevant in LMICs. However, there were additional aspects of context of relevance in LMICs specifically Resources, Community engagement, Commitment to work and Informal payment. Use of the COACH tool will allow for systematic description of the local healthcare context prior implementing healthcare interventions to allow for tailoring implementation strategies or as part of the evaluation of implementing healthcare interventions and thus allow for deeper insights into the process of implementing EBPs in LMICs.

A informação no processo de descentralização administrativa do setor saúde: o caso do cartão nacional de saúde em Niterói

A importância da informação como recurso estratégico nas organizações conduz à relevância que o projeto Cartão Nacional de Saúde (CNS) do SUS assume na reestruturação do setor público de Saúde, que busca um novo modelo de gestão, nas três esferas de governo. A descentralização da gestão, como um processo extremamente dinâmico e participativo, rede fine os papéis dos gestores, que assumem novas responsabilidades, exigindo um aparato burocrático mais flexível. Seus desafios são muitos, visto que as organizações de saúde são sempre complexas. Neste estudo buscou-se o entendimento da dinâmica organizacional e de sua adaptação às mudanças impostas pelo ambiente, com base no referencial teórico proposto por H. Mintzberg e sua aplicação às organizações do SUS. A experiência de implantação desse novo sistema de informação, CNS, de abrangência nacional, é analisada em seus aspectos locais, com seus êxitos e dificuldades, no município de Niterói.

A utilização de serviços odontológicos entre crianças e fatores associados em Sobral, Ceará, Brasil

NORO, L. R. A. et al. A utilização de serviços odontológicos entre crianças e fatores associados em Sobral, Ceará, Brasil. Cad. Saúde Pública, v. 24, n. 7, p. 1509-1516. 2008. ISSN 0102-311X.

Protagonismo silencioso: a presença da OPAS na formação de recursos humanos em saúde no Brasil

The aim of this study is to assess the contribution of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to the field of human resources for health in Brazil. The assumption is that this organization not only influenced the development of this field, but but that it was also influenced by Brazilian institutions and by national political movements, through the interaction of its consultants with these movements. Four projects were selected, through which the contribution of PAHO was evaluated: the Program for the Strategic Preparation of Health Personnel (PPREPS), the Project for the Large Scale Formation of Middle and Low Level Personnel (Large Scale Project), the Project for Qualification in the Development of Human Resources in Health (CADRHU) and the Project for the Managerial Development of Basic Units of the National Health System (GERUS). To operacionalize the study, we used three basic complementary procedures: a bibliographic research, documental research and an interview. The time frame considered was from 1975, the year an agreement was signed between PAHO, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Culture, establishing PPREPS. It was through this program that the first PAHO team of national human resource consultants was contracted. The period between 1975 and 1999 was marked by political and social movements that changed the course of health in the country; among these was the Movement of Sanitary Reform in Brazil, which culminated in the implementation of the National Health System (SUS). This paper shows the connections of the PAHO consultants with this movement and the implications that this had for the Program of Cooperation in the Development of Human Resources of PAHO/Brazil. It also demonstrates that as the program became contaminated by national movements of health system reorganization and of democratization of Brazilian society, it proposed, in cooperation with national institutions, an organization of determinate areas of operation of these same institutions. The manuscript further reveals that, with the Large Scale Project, the human resources program determined the pedagogical and methodological option that would be the model for various other educational projects undertaken by a number of Brazilian institutions with the technical cooperation of PAHO. And finally, the repercussions and contributions of these projects, which strengthened the the field of human resources in the public health services of the country, are identified. Data analysis was based mainly on the theories of Bourdieu, Gramsci and Freire

Saúde da família: uma estratégia de mudança no processo de produção dos serviços de saúde

The purpose of this study is to analyze, from the point of view of nurses, changes that took place in the process of providing health services after the introduction of the Family Health Program (FHP). It is na investigation of qualitative nature that uses semi-structured interviews as a main empirical approach tool. Six nurses from the city of Caicó, Rio Grande do Norte, who were working with basic care before the introduction of the FHP, within basic care, were: adscription and ties with the community; hospitality and the humanizacion of care-giving; decrease in cases of inpatient treatment; strengthening of the prevention of injuries and health promotion; improvemente of health indicatiors, finally, actions that point towads meeting the principles of wholeness, equity and universality as a declaration of the Brazilian National Health Care System (SUS). Nevertheless, in spite of all recognizable positive aspects, the FHP has some weaknesses, such as: the difficulty posed by colletive work; the mismatch between professional education and the demands of the current health standard; a poor physical infrastructure of the Basic Health Units; a high heath staff turnover and precarious work conditions. In addition to this, some strategies that can be used to help improve the process of providing health services have been pointed out, such as, coordination between sectors, continuous education, making work conditions less precarious and improving the means whereby heathy service management is conveyed,Tthus, finally, we understand that the FHP does bring forward meaningful changes to the process of provinding health services to strengthen the Brasilian National Health Care System (SUS), in spite of the fact that it lies within a scenario of adversities that can be overcome through the collective endeavor of the several social actors

O lugar social do fisioterapeuta brasileiro

Este estudo visa compreender a produção do lugar social do fisioterapeuta brasileiro por meio de suas práticas. O material empírico utilizado foram 89 entrevistas, dados do I Censo de Fisioterapeutas do Estado de São Paulo e informações sobre os cursos de graduação em Fisioterapia no Brasil. A análise dos dados mostrou que o lugar social do fisioterapeuta está fortemente ligado ao modelo curativo, identificado com o ideário liberal-privatista, com instituições formadoras predominantemente privadas e concentradas na região Sudeste. Os resultados sustentam evidências de uma prática profissional fragmentada, estimulada pelo modelo hegemônico, mas também apresenta marcas de superação, mostrando a disputa de dois modelos na atenção à saúde: hegemônico e contra-hegemônico. O primeiro toma a parte pelo todo, fragmenta o conhecimento e o corpo, identifica-se com o liberalismo e tem a saúde como mercadoria; a organização dos serviços é centrada na doença e na especialização. O segundo, sem negar a importância do conhecimento técnico, valoriza as dimensões sociais e humanas na prática profissional, está centrado na pessoa e busca a integralidade e a interdisciplinaridade. Esse modelo permite ampliar a prática do fisioterapeuta para além da clínica, em direção a um lugar social mais humano e solidário, identificado com os princípios do Sistema Único de Saúde. Também permite repensar o atual lugar social, oferecendo parâmetros para a reorientação dos caminhos da profissão.

Regiões de saúde e escalas geográficas

O presente artigo tem como objetivo central discutir o processo de regionalização da saúde no país, considerando-se o novo cenário de direcionamento do investimento de unidades públicas de saúde, a partir da publicação da Norma Operacional de Assistência à Saúde (NOAS - SUS 01/2001). Para isso, um esforço faz-se necessário: o de superação da compreensão predominante a respeito de alguns conceitos, principalmente o de região e de escala geográfica. A proposta de divisão regional dessa NOAS baseia-se no conceito de região de planejamento que, desde a fundação do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, tem subsidiado as políticas territoriais do Estado brasileiro. Contudo, a regionalização da saúde no Brasil é uma necessidade para o fortalecimento do SUS e uma mudança qualitativa da política nacional de saúde. É preciso avançar, relacionando a divisão regional do Brasil com a questão da escala. O que está em questão é se a regionalização da saúde brasileira representa ou não um aprimoramento das mediações entre as diversas escalas do SUS.

Plano Nacional de Saúde e o lugar social em disputa

O presente artigo apresenta uma análise do Plano Nacional de Saúde publicado em 2004. Este documento expressa um importante período de transição na gestão do SUS, uma vez que foi predecessor do Pacto pela Saúde. A partir de um estudo descritivo com base em procedimentos quantitativos e qualitativos, o objetivo foi compreender as ideias centrais do documento, identificando as conexões existentes entre seus princípios, objetivos e prioridades. O principal resultado do estudo foi a identificação da integralidade das ações, da capacitação dos recursos humanos e mudança do marco regulatório com base numa visão intersetorial como núcleo central do documento. Essas ideias, por sua vez, circulam pelo discurso das diretrizes do plano, fortalecendo os laços do eixo central do texto na reorganização da atenção ambulatorial e na qualificação profissional. Por fim, quando comparadas metas e ações previstas nas diretrizes, observa-se uma tensão entre o que foram denominados vetores da verticalidade e da horizontalidade, deixando em aberto o rumo do lugar social em disputa.

Analysis of the Electrical Characteristics of an Alternative Solution for the Brazilian-Amazon Transmission System

This article analyzes the electrical parameters of a 3-phase transmission line using a 280-m-high steel tower that has been proposed for the Amazon transmission system in Brazil. The height of the line conductors and the distance between them are intrinsically related to the longitudinal and transverse parameters of the line. Hence, an accurate study is carried out in order to show the electrical variations between a transmission line using the new technology and a conventional 3-phase 440-kV line, considering a wide range of frequencies and variable soil resistivity. First, a brief review of the fundamental theory of line parameters is presented. In addition, by using a digital line model, simulations are carried out in the time domain to analyze possible and critical over-voltage transients on the proposed line representation.