The Amazonian environment is changing rapidly, due to deforestation, in the short term, and, climatic change is projected to alter its forest cover, in the next few decades. These modifications to the, environment have been altering the dynamics of infectious diseases which have natural foci in the, Amazonian biome, especially in its forest. Current land use practices which are changing the, epidemiological profile of the parasitic diseases in the region are road building; logging; mining; expansion of agriculture and cattle ranching and the building of large dams. Malaria and the cutaneous, leishmaniasis are the diseases best known for their rapid changes in response to environmental, modifications. Others such as soil-transmitted helminthiases, filarial infections and toxoplasmosis, which have part of their developmental cycles in the biophysical environment, are also expected to, change rapidly. An interdisciplinary approach and an integrated, international surveillance are needed, to manage the environmentally-driven changes in the Amazonian parasitic diseases in the near future.
Vulnerability to climate change is a complex and dynamic phenomenon involving both social and physical/environmental aspects. It is presented as a method for the quantification of the vulnerability of all municipalities of Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil. It is based on the aggregation of different kinds of environmental, climatic, social, institutional, and epidemiological variables, to form a composite index. This was named “Index of Human Vulnerability” and was calculated using a software (SisVuClima®) specifically developed for this purpose. Social, environmental, and health data were combined with the climatic scenarios RCP 4.5 and 8.5, downscaled from ETA-HadGEM2-ES for each municipality. The Index of Human Vulnerability associated with the RCP 8.5 has shown a higher vulnerability for municipalities in the southern and eastern parts of the state of Minas Gerais.
O Programa de Qualificação e Desenvolvimento do Agente Comunitário de Saúde (ACS) foi instituído pelo Ministério da Saúde visando investir em sua profissionalização. Este artigo teve por objetivo identificar, analisar e compreender as implicações do Programa de Qualificação e Desenvolvimento concluído em 2009 pela Escola de Saúde Pública do Estado de Minas Gerais na vida pessoal e laboral dos ACS e no processo de atenção à saúde, na visão dos diversos sujeitos envolvidos na Atenção Primária em Saúde (APS): ACS, equipe de Saúde da Família, gestores, docentes e usuários de 4 unidades básicas de saúde em uma capital da região Sudeste. Este estudo tem caráter qualitativo, utilizando como técnicas de coleta de informações a análise documental, entre-vistas, grupo focal e questionários. As informações coletadas foram analisadas por meio da técnica de análise do discurso do sujeito e utilizando o programa SPSS, versão 16. Foram realizados 14 grupos focais com as unidades da Estratégia Saúde da Família, 4 com ACS e 4 com usuários; 7 entrevistas, 4 com gestores e 3 com docentes do curso. No grupo dos ACS, há predomínio do sexo feminino e uma baixa rotatividade. Na análise do discurso, verificou-se que o programa investigado trouxe implicações favoráveis à vida pessoal e profissional do ACS e à APS. Contudo, é necessário estruturar o programa nos parâmetros da educação permanente em saúde, assegurando uma abordagem que propicie a construção permanente de estratégias voltadas à melhoria das condições de vida e saúde e à cidadania plena.
This chapter focuses on climate change and its impact on health in Latin America. The public health consequences of natural disasters and extreme weather events, the effect of climate change on the changing incidence of infectious diseases, and issues related to vulnerability to the impacts of climate change are discussed.
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