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Objective To analyse the provision of oral cancer (OC) care services in the Dental Specialties Centers (Centros de Especialidades Odontológicas‐CEO) in Brazil and identify changes over two cycles of external evaluation of the Program for the Improvement of Access and Quality‐PMAQ, in 2014 and 2018. Method This is a nationwide panel ecological study, including 916 CEO. Data from interviews with managers and dentists of the CEO were used, including variables related to training on OC, clinical protocols, biopsies, referral for diagnosis and treatment, and registration of users with OC. We carried out Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) to identify patterns (latent status LS) of service adequacy and work processes’ changes between the two assessment cycles. We tested models with three, four, and five LS, selecting the one with the best conceptual interpretability and good model fit parameters. Data from the LS were plotted on choropleth and hotspots maps in Brazil allowing us to identify areas with the better or worse provision of specialized OC services. Results The model with four LS was chosen. The four LS were named: 1.’Most indicators inadequate for OC care’ (the worst); 2. ‘Most indicators suitable for OC care’ (the best); 3. ‘CEO with a poor relation with Primary Health Care (PHC) services’; and 4. ‘CEO with a poor relation with tertiary hospital services’. The comparison of the LS transition between the two cycles revealed that 419 (45.7%) CEO remained in the same LS (1→1, 3→4, 2→2); 228 (24.9%) switched to a worse status (2→1, 2→4, 3→1) and 269 (29.4%) switched to a better LS (1→2, 1→4, 3→2). While the majority of the CEO improved, we identified a decline of 17.8% in those who reported performing biopsies and 18.3% in the number of CEO that had hospitals for referring confirmed OC cases. Almost all Brazilian states had CEO that improved the work process. The Southeast and South regions had the highest percentage of CEO with the better work process in both cycles. Hotspots showed areas concentrating improvements in the work process in the Northeast region. However, some hotspots in the North revealed some CEO where the work process deteriorated or remained unsatisfactory. Conclusions There are regional inequities in the provision of OC care in CEO. Most services improved their work process or remained stable. However, the biopsies and the referral to hospital care for confirmed cases declined, indicating that CEO need to improve planning and care provision to reduce OC morbimortality.

Objective Compared indicators of potential access to oral health services sought in two cycles of the Program for Improvement of Access and Quality of Primary Care (PMAQ-AB), verifying whether the program generated changes in access to oral health services. Methods Transitional analysis of latent classes was used to analyze two cross-sections of the external evaluation of the PMAQ-AB (Cycle I: 2011–2012 and Cycle II: 2013–2014), identifying completeness classes for a structure and work process related to oral health. Consider three indicators of structure (presence of a dental surgeon, existence of a dental office and operating at minimum hours) and five of the work process (scheduling every day of the week, home visits, basic dental procedures, scheduling for spontaneous demand and continuation of treatment). Choropleth maps and hotspots were made. Results The proportion of elements that had one or more dentist (CD), dental office and operated at minimum hours varied from 65.56% to 67.13 between the two cycles of the PMAQ-AB. The number of teams that made appointments every day of the week increased 8.7% and those that made home visits varied from 44.51% to 52.88%. The reduction in the number of teams that reported guaranteeing the agenda for accommodating spontaneous demand, varying from 62.41% to 60.11% and in the continuity of treatment, varying from 63.41% to 61.11%. For the structure of health requirements, the predominant completeness profile was "Best completeness" in both cycles, comprising 71.0% of the sets at time 1 and 67.0% at time 2. The proportion of teams with "Best completeness" increased by 89.1%, the one with "Worst completeness" increased by 20%, while those with "Average completeness" decreased by 66.3%. Conclusion We identified positive changes in the indicators of potential access to oral health services, expanding the users’ ability to use them. However, some access attributes remain unsatisfactory, with organizational barriers persisting.

BackgroundBrazilian Primary Care Facilities (PCF) provide primary care and must offer dental services for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases. According to a logic of promoting equity, PCF should be better structured in less developed places and with higher need for oral health services.ObjectiveTo analyze the structure of dental caries services in the capitals of the Brazilian Federative Units and identify whether socioeconomic factors and caries (need) are predictors of the oral health services structure.MethodsThis is an ecological study with variables retrieved from different secondary databases, clustered for the level of the federative capitals. Descriptive thematic maps were prepared, and structural equations were analyzed to identify oral health service structure’s predictors (Alpha = 5%). Four models with different outcomes related to dental caries treatment were tested: 1) % of PCF with a fully equipped office; 2) % of PCF with sufficient instruments, and 3) % of PCF with sufficient supplies; 4) % of PCF with total structure.Results21.6% of the PCF of the Brazilian capitals had a fully equipped office; 46.9% had sufficient instruments, and 30.0% had sufficient supplies for caries prevention and treatment. The four models evidenced proper fit indexes. A correlation between socioeconomic factors and the structure of oral health services was only noted in model 3. The worse the socioeconomic conditions, the lower the availability of dental supplies (standard factor loading: 0.92, P = 0.012). Estimates of total, direct and indirect effects showed that dental caries experience observed in the Brazilian population by SB-Brasil in 2010 did not affect the outcomes investigated.ConclusionMaterial resources are not equitably distributed according to the socioeconomic conditions and oral health needs of the population of the Brazilian capitals, thus contributing to persistent oral health inequities in the country.

Primeiramente, a Deus, pela oportunidade da vida e por ter me mantido com saúde e fé. A minha orientadora, Marina, pela paciência e dedicação, pelo exemplo de profissional e por me ajudar a amadurecer como pessoa e como nutricionista. Aos meus pais, Fernandes e Regina, pelo cuidado e amor incondicional, por sempre esperar o melhor de mim e por serem exemplo de honestidade e generosidade. As minhas irmãs, Fernanda e Iohana, pelas brincadeiras, brigas, traquinagens e pelo sentimento de proteção que sempre tiveram por mim. A minha irmã "adotiva", Adriana, por ser metade da minha infância e adolescência. Ao meu noivo e amigo, Gustavo, por todo apoio e companheirismo ao longo de tantos anos juntos. Aos demais familiares [avós, tio(a)s, primo(a)s e cunhados] pelo acolhimento, união, encontros e alegria. A todos os membros do laboratório de Bioquímica da Nutrição do Núcleo de Nutrição, pelo acolhimento dado a mim e pelo auxílio nas análises bioquímicas.