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Biomedical subjects

H M Novaes

Publications and source records attributed to H M Novaes.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Social impacts of technological diffusion: prenatal diagnosis and induced abortion in Brazil.

Scientific and technological development plays an essential part in shaping contemporary societies, and medicine and health care are considered to be particularly receptive to the incorporation of new concepts, techniques and products, producing impacts not only on the health problems for which they were originally intended, but also varied 'side-effects', less frequently recognised and studied. In this study the point of departure was the hypothesis that the intensive diffusion in Brazil of prenatal ultrasound would create new problems for individuals (pregnant women, their families and health professionals) and society in coping with foetal malformations, due to the existence of a very restrictive induced abortion legislation. The objective of the research was to study the social visibility of these problems, in the written mass media. The period under analysis went from 1991 to 1996. The four most important daily newspapers and two medical council journals were studied, with a criteria oriented selection of articles, and their macrotextual thematic analysis. The results indicate that the basic elements in the relationships between medical technology, prenatal diagnosis, foetal malformations and induced abortions stayed the same along the period - a restrictive Penal Code, the public recognition of the disseminated and usually tolerated practice of induced abortion, done in risky conditions for the majority of women, with very evident consequences on maternal health, a divided Congress, a divided 'public opinion', religious opposition and new scientific and technological practices in health care. Nevertheless, tension between these 'contradictory' factors increases, so much so, that new elements are introduced which make an accommodation possible, without implying in major changes of position. This is achieved through the development of new alliances between Science, the judiciary and obstetrical leaders, which benefit individual initiatives, instead of leading to a public recognition of the problem and changes in the law.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMed2000

[Evaluation of health programs, services and technologies].

The field of program, services and technology evaluation in general, and in health care in particular, is going through an important growth and conceptual and methodological diversification. It is also the object of an increasing demand for its participation as an effective supportive instrument in the decision-making process, and a constant need in the dynamics of health systems and services. In this paper, based on literature review, nuclear criteria involved in the organization of all evaluation processes are identified, and articulated with the existing institutionalized evaluation practices in developed countries, that is, program evaluation, quality assessment and management and technology assessment. In conclusion, the incipient development of a methodological evaluation output in Brazil is analyzed.

Health Services↗
PubMed1999

[Training of local health managers: process of identification of strategic actions].

In Brazil, in recent years, as a result of the increasing participation of county authorities in health care, a need for tools which would contribute to the better preparation of local administrators, complementary to the activities of a more academic nature, has been recognized. One of the possible alternatives is the exploitation of experiences, regarded as successful, in local health care planning and administration, by using them as material for "case studies" in activities with selected groups of health care administrators thus, stimulating the identification of those elements which contributed to the favorable results attained, and their interactions, in the quest for analogies which would facilitate the identification of new perspectives for their own situations. In this article an experience of a "case studies" development, in response to a demand from UNICEF, based on 8 counties in from the North and Northeast, which were successful in using a "focus approach" in their organization of data and their utilisation in a seminar with 21 local managers from both regions, is presented. During the seminar the local health managers attained greater knowledge of the strategies implemented and identified feasible intervention alternatives. The methodological proposition of teaching on the basis of case studies, using a conceptual strategy of grouping experiences according to specific dimensions enabled local health managers to learn from their practical experiences.

Brazil↗
PubMed1997

Hospitals in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Health services provided by public or private institutions at the primary and hospital referral levels should be coordinated so that the available resources are distributed equitably to meet the needs and aspirations of the population. The challenge is to improve the quality of hospital care and the existing pattern of public and private services in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Financial Management↗
PubMed1982

[Reorganization of the health sector: contribution to education in the administration of health services].

This article discusses some of the difficulties traditionally encountered in endeavors to reorganize health services and the various obstacles to be surmounted if the changes proposed by planners are to be brought about and their goals achieved. In view of the need for the countries of the Americas to find alternative ways to reorganize their health sectors so that all members of their populations can be properly served, the author considers the utility of the so-called "matrix" criterion, which has been used in economics and general administration for the past decade. It is admitted that problems can arise in efforts to apply this approach, but it is felt that, if the resources of the different units and sectors are used jointly under the responsibility of a coordinator of operations, it will be possible to work in an integrated way toward the established goals.

Ecology↗