Advances in reducing poverty and inequalities in the 2000s had a paradoxical effect in

The socioeconomic development, supply and complexity of health actions and services in a regional context may be considered structural constraints to the success of the current process of health care regionalization in Brazil. The main objective of this study is to identify the structural determinants of the regionalization process by building a typology of health regions in Brazil. A typology of Brazilian health regions was developed from available secondary data sources. The dimensions and groups that form the typology were identified through factor analysis and cluster analysis. The type of service provider both for out and inpatients was also identified. Results: the regions were classified into five independent groups according to their socioeconomic profile and characteristics of the health service supply. The characterization of Brazilian health regions through the typology demonstrates high levels of heterogeneity throughout Brazil, and the complex organization of the regional health systems. The proposed typology could contribute to future research and better understanding of this complex and contradictory scenario, supporting the urgently required development of integrated regional public policies that simultaneously involve economic and social development and the strengthening of regional spaces of governance in order to promote the organization of regional health systems grounded on the principles of the SUS (Brazilian National Health System), under a shared, joint management with the objective of ensuring the universal right to health.

ESTE ESTUDO busca atualizar o debate sobre a segregação urbana no Brasil, com base nos dados do Censo Demográfico de 2000 e da utilização de Sistemas de Informação Geográfica. Sustentamos que o modelo centro-periferia é uma simplificação genérica da forma urbana, sendo a periferia de São Paulo heterogênea, o que acarreta importantes conseqüências para as políticas públicas.
THIS STUDY intends to revisit the urban segregation debate in Brazil, taking into account new data from the 2000 Demographic Census and the use of geographic information systems. We argue that the center-periphery model is a rough simplification of the urban form, and that the São Paulo outskirts are heterogeneous, with important consequences for public policies

Resumo O atraso na implementação da estraté-gia da regionalização e a fragilidade de iniciativas combinadas de descentralização e regionalização no

OBJECTIVE:To describe the level of knowledge and risk perception on HIV/AIDS of the Brazilian Population. METHODS:Data base from a national survey on sexual behavior and HIV/ AIDS risk perception in the Brazilian population, in 1998 and 2005, were used. A synthetic indicator was used, composed by nine questions on the level of knowledge and risk perception on the forms of transmission of the virus and risk situations, according to population subgroups. RESULTS:Men increased their level of knowledge in the period, reaching the same information level of women. Among youngsters, there was no signifi cant increase in knowledge, and the difference between sexes was absent in this dimension. Regarding risk perception, there was an increase in the proportion of those that declared they were not under risk of HIV/AIDS contamination.CONCLUSIONS: Despite the increase in the level of general knowledge, the study's results indicate the need for actions and programs of HIV/AIDS prevention in the general population and, especially, with youngsters.