[Health metamorphosis: disease mongering and communication strategies]

Nem tudo que reluz é ouro: discutindo prevenção quaternária a partir de ditados populares

A Medicina tem convocado as pessoas a realizarem cada vez mais ações preventivas, desde medidas de pressão arterial até a aplicação de novas vacinas; entretanto, médicas e médicos de família e comunidade têm identificado riscos e limitações das ações preventivas, mostrando que nem todas elas são ética ou cientificamente justificáveis. Esse é o escopo da prevenção quaternária, que visa poupar as pessoas de sobremedicalização e procedimentos desnecessários. Vivendo em uma sociedade que prima pela alta tecnologia, onde o terror virou negócio e o autocuidado, uma obsessão, pode ser muito difícil desaconselhar a realização de algum exame ou desprescrever alguma medicação; porém, é exatamente nesse contexto que a prevenção quaternária é profundamente necessária, e a dificuldade de sua prática exige articular outros saberes e recursos além do nível de evidência ou do grau de recomendação de uma ou outra ação. As crenças em saúde são objeto de um cuidado centrado na pessoa, e muitas delas são inspiradas ou traduzidas por ditados populares. Nesse ensaio, discuto o excesso de intervenções e a prevenção quaternária a partir de alguns deles. Analisando frases como “é melhor prevenir do que remediar”, apresento os aforismos como ferramentas de compreensão da prevenção quaternária, podendo ser usados por profissionais e docentes para discutir essa prática contra-hegemônica com pacientes e estudantes. Ao articular os saberes popular e profissional, o texto contribui à competência cultural da Atenção Primária à Saúde e ajuda a produzir encontros clínicos mais harmoniosos e a promover um cuidado menos invasivo, medicalizador e danoso.

Erectile Dysfunction in Brazilian Primary Health Care: Dealing with Medicalization

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common sexual problem and has been attracting growing interest from the field of medicine. The pharmaceutical industry works together with medical associations to popularize the theme, emphasizing individual enhancement and medication, besides reinforcing an idea of a male sexuality defined by the ability to have an erection and penetrate. Patients worried about erection problems search for general practitioners (GPs), frequently without a clear complaint, and a comprehensive primary health care (PHC) must be capable of dealing with these issues considering medicalization and disease mongering. This article discusses how PHC physicians take (and might take) care of men with erection problems, and how users perceive it and search for help in two cities in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The qualitative research, performed in five PHC services, included semistructured interviews with 16 GPs and 15 adult male users. The adult male users were invited by their doctors during consultations where questions about prostate, ED, or other sexual problems arose. Interviews were transcribed and submitted for content analysis. In addition, the five participating services were observed with help of a specific script. Results indicate that ED is frequently a hidden agenda and that doctors have trouble approaching the problem, usually focusing on the biological aspects. Based on empirical data and literature, this work indicates some measures to qualify the care of men with ED in PHC which includes contemplating users' questions, respecting their autonomy, avoiding an antidrug stance, and considering drug and nondrug approaches as a continuum of resources.

Does the scientific evidence support the advertising claims made for products containing Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis? A systematic review

BACKGROUND

To analyse the scientific evidence that exists for the advertising claims made for two products containing Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis and to conduct a comparison between the published literature and what is presented in the corporate website.

METHODS

Systematic review, using Medline through Pubmed and Embase. We included human clinical trials that exclusively measured the effect of Lactobacillus casei or Bifidobacterium lactis on a healthy population, and where the objective was related to the health claims made for certain products in advertising. We assessed the levels of evidence and the strength of the recommendation according to the classification criteria established by the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (CEBM). We also assessed the outcomes of the studies published on the website that did not appear in the search.

RESULTS

Of the 440 articles identified, 16 met the inclusion criteria. Only four (25%) of these presented a level of evidence of 1b and a recommendation grade of A, all corresponding to studies on product containing Bifidobacterium lactis, and only 12 of the 16 studies were published on the corporate website (47).

CONCLUSIONS

There is insufficient scientific evidence to support the health claims made for these products, especially in the case of product containing Lactobacillus casei.

Gender policies and advertising and marketing practices that affect women's health

BACKGROUND

The three papers of this doctoral thesis are based on the social construction of reality through the analysis of communication relating to health issues. We have analysed the contents of parliamentary, institutional, and mass media to uncover whether their communications create, transmit, and perpetuate gender biases and/or stereotypes, which may have an impact on peoples' health, with a particular focus on women.

OBJECTIVE

To analyse decision making and the creation of gender awareness policies and actions affecting women's health: (1) political debates about abortion, (2) gender awareness communication campaigns and educational actions, and (3) pharmaceutical advertising strategies.

DESIGN

Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed, and the research included observational studies and systematic reviews. To apply a gender perspective, we used the level of gender observation proposed by S. Harding, which states that: (1) gender is the basis of social norms and (2) gender is one of the organisers of the social structure.

RESULTS

Sixty percentage of the bills concerning abortion introduced in the Spanish Parliament were initiated and led by pro-choice women's groups. Seventy-nine percent of institutional initiatives aimed at promoting equality awareness and were in the form of educational actions, while unconventional advertising accounted for 6 percent. Both initiatives focused on occupational equality, and very few actions addressed issues such as shared responsibility or public policy. With regard to pharmaceutical advertising, similar traditional male-female gender roles were used between 1975 and 2005.

CONCLUSIONS

Gender sensitivity continues to be essential in changing the established gender system in Spanish institutions, which has a direct and indirect impact on health. Greater participation of women in public policy and decision-making are critical for womens' health, such as the issue of abortion. The predominance of women as the target group of institutional gender awareness campaigns proves that the gender perspective still lacks the promotion of shared responsibilities between men and women. There is a need for institutions that act as 'policy watchdogs' to control the gender biases in mass media and pharmaceutical marketing as well as to ensure the proper implementation and maintenance of Spanish equality laws.