Open AccessImpact of continuing education on maternal and child health indicators
Author(s) -
Débora Dupas Gonçalves do Nascimento,
Sílvia Helena Mendonça de Moraes,
Carlos Antônio de Souza Teles Santos,
Albert Schiaveto de Souza,
Rafael Aiello Bomfim,
Alessandro Diogo De Carli,
Vera Lúcia Kodjaoglanian,
Mara Lisiane de Moraes dos Santos,
Edílson José Zafalon
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0235258
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , medicine , demography , family medicine , health care , health indicator , childbirth , congenital syphilis , pediatrics , public health , syphilis , pregnancy , nursing , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , sociology , economics , economic growth , biology , genetics
Objective This study investigated whether the presence of care workers who completed a specialization course on family health was associated with improved care and maternal and child health indicators in municipalities in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Methods Negative binomial regression models with fixed effects were used for the 79 municipalities in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, with repeated observations for the period 2009–2015. For our reference, the parameter “number of professionals who completed the course” calculated the proportion of professionals who completed the course, and was divided by the total number of primary health care professionals in the municipality to create a ratio. The cutoff points used represented tertile distribution: T3: high (0.35–1.00), T2: intermediate (0.02–0.33) and T1: low (0.00–0.01); to avoid biased results, the analysis was also performed for the years prior to the beginning of the course in question (2009 and 2010). Results During the study period, enrollment of pregnant women, exclusive breastfeeding for children under 4 months, and up-to-date vaccinations in children younger than 1 year to 23 months increased (high to intermediate categories) in municipalities where professionals who completed the specialization course worked. Growth in the intermediate ratio was also observed in indicators related to cervical cancer screening and new diagnoses of congenital syphilis in infants under one year of age. Conclusions The presence of care workers who completed a specialization course on family health was seen to be associated with improved care and indicators for maternal and child health in municipalities in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. These findings reaffirm the importance and effectiveness of policies on training and continuing education for the Brazilian Unified Health System.