EDITORIAL
José da Rocha Carvalheiro
It is never too much to repeat that, after it was approved to take part in the SciELO base, the Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia gained momentum in the flow of articles received. As it has maintained the regularity required, the number of originals grew to the point that the team of Associate Editors had to be expanded. In our peer review process, Associated Editors have the major role of analyzing and preparing the final opinion, which is rarely changed by the Scientific Editor or his Assistants. With the ongoing flow, we have finished a complete cycle of eleven articles published in the present issue 8(4), with which we end 2005. Collaborators totaled 28: an average of 2.5 authors per article that is slightly lower than the usual number of more than three authors. Only two articles were written by a single author, and even so, both of the articles were related to and inserted in the same effort to analyze the accident insurance factor. The proportion of women remains high (64%), as usual.
Geographical and institutional backgrounds are still diversified, as are themes and methodological options. One of the articles, written in Spanish, associates an author from the Ministry of Health, in Brasília, in the Center west region, with a Cuban author, from Universidad de la Habana. They analyze a historical-geographical series of Leprosy detection in Brazil, from 1960 to 2002. Another article, in Portuguese, has a similar theme and methodology but covers a different area (State of São Paulo) and period (1991 to 2002). It comes from authors from the Lauro de Souza Lima Institute that belongs to the São Paulo State Health Department, and UNESP, in the Botucatu and Presidente Prudente campi. However, we should emphasize that the levels of detection of the disease, although variable, continue high in Brazil.
One article deals with the association between sanitation and health, using secondary data from PAHO in Latin American countries. The two researchers who conduct the study are linked to the Juiz de Fora University in Minas Gerais, and use an ecological design to relate water supply and sanitation to indicators of mortality. A graduate student and a teacher from the Federal University of Santa Catarina analyzed factors associated with the parasitological quality of vegetables marketed in Florianópolis, SC. Two researchers from the Adolfo Lutz Institute, the public health laboratory branch in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, along with a professor from a local São Paulo University unit and a Municipal Basic Health Unit professional, examined food handlers in order to evaluate the presence of enteroparasitosis and onychomycosis.
Four researchers from Fiocruz, in Rio de Janeiro, carried out a systematic literature review to analyze the (few) studies related to adverse events in hospitals that use a medical record revision method. All are from "developed" countries. The authors concluded that the procedure might guide the methodological design for studying the unknown magnitude in Brazil.
Two articles used public information systems to study trends of mortality due to neoplasms in Brazilian capitals and the reliability of data informed on the reporting of congenital syphilis cases. In the former, three researchers linked to the Federal University of Viçosa and to the Northwest Region University (Universidade Regional Noroeste) of Rio Grande do Sul (UNIJUI) have as a starting point the acknowledged reliability of the Mortality Information System (SIM) for a study with an ecological design in a time series of mortality due to neoplasms. In the latter, four researchers from ENSP/ Fiocruz and the Rio de Janeiro City Health Department analyze the reliability of their own National Disease Reporting System (Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação - SINAN), concluding for the need to improve it.
Confirming a trend already observed in previous issues, RBE continues to be a means for promoting work in sanitary dentistry. In this case, two researchers linked to the City Hall of Ouro Preto, to PUC/ MG, to UFMG and to the René Rachou Research Center, of Fiocruz Belo Horizonte, analyzed the prevalence of dental fluorosis in schoolchildren in Ouro Preto.
Finally, two articles deal with the insurance accident factor, its epidemiological rationale, and its function as a tool for work risk control. Their authors are both university professors, from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA).
In addition to the ongoing flow of articles, we are publishing a Special Editor's Note written by Maria Rita Donalísio, related to the International Seminar on the Influenza Pandemic, held in November of this year in Rio de Janeiro. In future issues, the author, our permanent Editor for "endemic and epidemic conditions," will continue her contributions on this concerning condition about to threat humanity.
As we had announced in a previous issue, we have begun to publish the work presented and the debates held at the "Cohort Studies" Seminar. The series will have the coordinators of the seminar, Marília Sá Carvalho and Claudia Lopes, as Special Editors. The present issue presents and discusses the Pro Health Study (Estudo Pró-Saúde), conducted by four teachers from the National School of Public Health (ENSP/Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ) and Rio de Janeiro Federal University (UFRJ), with comments from two researchers from Fiocruz.
Finally, we continue the debate that begun in the June 8(2) issue, by publishing the inspiring text from Juan Gérvas on the epidemiological foundation of the role of the general practitioner as a health system filter. It continued in the following September issue, with the contribution of Spanish authors. This issue has comments from Brazilians and the answer from the authors of the original article.
Enjoy your reading.
The Editor
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
11 June 2007 -
Date of issue
Dec 2005
