Wounded adolescences: a portrait of firearm violence reported in Brazil

Hospitalization for malaria in the indigenous population of Roraima, in Brazil's Northern Amazon, 2008-2022

Objectives

To examine the epidemiology of hospitalized cases of malaria in indigenous people living in the municipalities of Roraima in the northern Brazilian Amazon from 2008 to 2022.

Methods

Ecological study using secondary data and spatiotemporal analyses based on thematic maps. Average rates were calculated per study period and spatiotemporal clusters were estimated from spatial statistics.

Results

Of the 541 medical records, 77.08% were related to Plasmodium vivax. Higher rates were observed in municipalities in the south and center of the state. The rates increased throughout the study period. The analysis generated three clusters.

Conclusions

Although Roraima has characteristics that worsen the malaria problem, no studies were found that examined the transmission of the disease in the state as a whole. This increases the importance of this study, which contributes to the discussion in the field of indigenous health.

Determinants of Inequalities in the Exposure to and Adoption of Multiple Health Risk Behaviors among Brazilian Adolescents, 2009-2019

The occurrence of multiple risk behaviors among adolescents imposes challenges in the context of public policies of health, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Evidence on the conditions leading to the exposure to and adoption of multiple risk behaviors allows the identification of vulnerable groups of adolescents, and may support the proposition of targeted strategies directed to individuals at risk. Therefore, the aim of this study was to perform a quantitative analysis to identify recent trends in the exposure to and adoption of multiple health risk behaviors among Brazilian adolescents, highlighting individual-, household-, and school-level characteristics linked to inequalities among social groups. The analysis was based on cross-sectional data from the National Student Health Survey (PeNSE), conducted by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics in 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2019. The trends in the occurrence of multiple risk behaviors among adolescents were estimated according to social strata, allowing the calculation of concentration indexes and their disaggregation into major determinants of inequalities in the exposure and adoption of risk behaviors. The analyses were conducted using a complex survey design to allow representativeness at the population level. The results showed a rise in the incidence of multiple risk behaviors among youngsters in Brazil from 2009 to 2019. Factors influencing inequalities in the exposure to multiple risk behaviors were socioeconomic status and the characteristics of the household and school environments, whilst the adoption of multiple risk behaviors was also influenced by early exposure to multiple risk behaviors. Furthermore, trends in inequalities in the exposure to and adoption of multiple risk behaviors showed an intensification from 2009 to 2019, being initially concentrated among wealthier adolescents, followed by a transition to higher incidence in the lower socioeconomic strata in 2012 and 2015, respectively. The findings underscore the role of support systems for adolescents at risk within the familial and school contexts, whereas strategies of public policies of health based on the strengthening of community ties may require improvements to tackle socioeconomic inequalities in the occurrence of risk behaviors among youngsters.

Dinâmica entre potenciais de fortalecimento e desgaste na vida de jovens da escola pública: pesquisa-ação com oficinas emancipatórias

Resumo O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar a dinâmica entre os potenciais de fortalecimento e desgaste inerentes às condições de reprodução social de jovens escolares. Com base no Materialismo Histórico-Dialético, em particular, na Teoria da Determinação Social da Saúde, a análise considerou as dimensões universal, particular e singular da totalidade social. Trata-se de pesquisa-ação, desenvolvida em 13 oficinas emancipatórias, durante um período de cinco meses, com 12 alunos do ensino médio de uma escola pública da cidade de São Paulo, Brasil. As condições de reprodução social expuseram as configurações familiares dos participantes, que sofrem com a precarização do trabalho e o desemprego, a ausência ou inconsistência de apoio paterno e o precário processo de ressocialização e sociabilidade. Os jovens discutiram as inseguranças e dificuldades que enfrentam nos territórios onde vivem, os conflitos familiares, as repercussões das pressões sociais para enfrentar o futuro, o lugar da escola e da família em suas vidas, além de dúvidas sobre sexualidade e uso de drogas. A pesquisa-ação emancipatória permitiu aos participantes irem além da aparência, e revelou a essência da realidade dos jovens, mostrando que a perspectiva da emancipação está pautada no entendimento das dimensões singular, particular e universal das relações sociais.

Dynamics between potential for strengthening and weakening in the lives of public-school youth: action research with emancipatory workshops

Abstract This action research analyzes the dynamics between the potentials for strengthening and weakening inherent in the social reproduction of young students. Based on the historical-dialectical materialism, particularly on the Theory of Social Determinants of Health, the analysis considered the universal, particular, and singular dimensions of social totality. The study was developed in 13 emancipatory workshops, during a five-month period, attended by 12 high school students from a public school in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The conditions of social reproduction exposed the participants’ family configurations, which suffer from precarious work and unemployment, the absence or inconsistency of paternal support, and a precarious process of resocialization and sociability. The teenagers discussed insecurities and difficulties faced by them in the territories where they live, family conflicts, the repercussions of social pressures to face the future, the place of school and family in their lives, and doubts regarding sexuality and drug use. The emancipatory action research allowed the participants to transcend appearance and demonstrated the essence of their reality, showing that emancipation is based on the understanding of the singular, particular, and universal dimensions of social relations.