ALEXANDRA VALERIA MARIA BRENTANI
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
Departamento de Pediatria, Faculdade de Medicina - Docente
5 resultados
Resultados de Busca
Agora exibindo 1 - 5 de 5
- Overall and Sex-Specific Associations Between Fetal Adversity and Child Development at Age 1 Year: Evidence From Brazil(2018) FINK, Guenther; ANDREWS, Kathryn G.; BRENTANI, Helena; GRISI, Sandra; FERRER, Ana Paula Scoleze; BRENTANI, AlexandraA growing body of epigenetic research suggests that in-utero adaptations to environmental changes display important sex-specific variation. We tested this heterogeneous adaptation hypothesis using data from 900 children born at the University Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, between October 2013 and April 2014. Crude and adjusting linear models were used to quantify the associations between prematurity, being small for gestational age, and children's physical and mental development at 12 months of age. Prematurity was negatively associated with neuropsychological development in final models (z score difference, -0.42, 95% confidence intervals: -0.71, -0.14), but associations did not vary significantly by sex. For being small for gestational age, associations with height-for-age, weight-for-age, and neuropsychological development were also negative, but they were systematically larger for male than for female infants (P < 0.05 for all). These results suggest that male fetuses may be more vulnerable to intrauterine adversity than female fetuses. Further research will be needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying these sex-specific associations.
- Implementation of Reach Up early childhood parenting program: acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility in Brazil and Zimbabwe(2018) SMITH, Joanne A.; BAKER-HENNINGHAM, Helen; BRENTANI, Alexandra; MUGWENI, Rose; WALKER, Susan P.Young children need nurturing care, which includes responsive caregiver-child interactions and opportunities to learn. However, there are few extant large-scale programs that build parents' abilities to provide this. We have developed an early childhood parenting training package, called Reach Up, with the aim of providing an evidence-based, adaptable program that is feasible for low-resource settings. Implementation of Reach Up was evaluated in Brazil and Zimbabwe to inform modifications needed and identify challenges that implementers and delivery agents encountered. Interview guides were developed to collect information on the program's appropriateness, acceptability, and feasibility from mothers, home visitors, and supervisors. Information on adaptation was obtained from country program leads and Reach Up team logs, as well as quality of visits from observations conducted by supervisors. The program was well accepted by mothers and visitors, who perceived benefits for the children; training was viewed as appropriate, and visitors felt well-prepared to conduct visits. A need for expansion of supervisor training was identified and the program was feasible to implement, although challenges were identified, including staff turnover; implementation was less feasible for staff with other work commitments (in Brazil). However, most aspects of visit quality were high. We conclude that the Reach Up program can expand capacity for parenting programs in low- and middle-income countries.
bookPart Contexto histórico das políticas públicas voltadas para a infância no Brasil(2018) BRENTANI, Alexandra Valéria Maria- Challenges facing community health workers in Brazil's Family Health Strategy: A qualitative study(2018) GROSSMAN-KAHN, Rebecca; SCHOEN, Julia; MALLETT, John William; BRENTANI, Alexandra; KASELITZ, Elizabeth; HEISLER, MicheleCommunity health worker (CHW) programs are implemented in many low- and middle-income countries such as Brazil to increase access to and quality of care for underserved populations; CHW programs have been found to improve certain indicators of health, but few studies have investigated the daily work of CHWs, their perspectives on what both helps and hinders them from fulfilling their roles, and ways that their effectiveness and job satisfaction could be increased. To examine these questions, we observed clinic visits, CHW home visits, and conducted semistructured interviews with CHWs in 7 primary care centers in Brazil2 in Salvador, Bahia, and 5 in SAo Paulo, SPin which CHWs are incorporated into the work of all primary care health teams. In addition to enhancing communication between the medical system and the community, CHWs consider their key roles to be helping persuade community members to seek medical care and increasing health professionals' awareness of the social conditions affecting their patients' health. Key obstacles that CHWs face include failure to be fully integrated into the primary care team, inability to follow-up on identified health needs due to limited resources, as well as community members' lack of understanding of their work and undervaluing of preventative medicine. Increased training, better incorporation of CHWs into clinic flow and decision making, and establishing a clear community awareness of the roles and value of CHWs will help increase the motivation and effectiveness of CHWs in Brazil.
- Childhood Mental Health Problems in Primary Care(2018) FATORI, Daniel; BRENTANI, Alexandra; GRISI, Sandra Josefina Ferraz Ellero; MIGUEL, Euripedes Constantino; GRAEFF-MARTINS, Ana SoledadeThe present population study aimed at identifying the prevalence of mental health problems (MHP) and describing health services use in a sample of children attending Primary Healthcare Units (PHU) in the city of Sao Paulo. Caregivers of 825 6-11 years old children were assessed. MHP were assessed with the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire and health services use with an adapted version of the Client Receipt Inventory Children's version. Prevalence of internalizing and externalizing MHP was 30.7% and 18.3%, respectively. Pediatricians were the most consulted health professional (56.7%) and psychologists the most consulted mental health professional (7.9%). Only 3 children were under medication treatment for MHP. The high prevalence of MHP among children in the primary care setting and the low rate of treatment constitute a public health problem. Training programs for health professionals are relevant to help identify and refer MHP cases.