Background: This study’s aims are to assess the current evidence presented in the literature regarding the potential risks of COVID-19 infection among pregnant women and consequent fetal transmission. Methods: a systematic literature review assessing papers published in the most comprehensive databases in the field of health intended to answer the question, “What are the effects of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy, and what is the neonatal prognosis?” Results: 49 papers published in 2020 were eligible, presenting low levels of evidence. A total of 755 pregnant women and 598 infants were assessed; more than half of pregnant women had C-sections (379/65%). Only 493 (82%) infants were tested for SARS-CoV-2, nine (2%) of whom tested positive. There is, however, no evidence of vertical transmission based on what has been assessed so far, considering there are knowledge gaps concerning the care provided during and after delivery, as well as a lack of suitable biological samples for testing SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions: We cannot rule out potential worsening of the clinical conditions of pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2, whether the infection is associated with comorbidities or not, due to the occurrence of respiratory disorders, cardiac rhythm disturbances, and acid-base imbalance, among others. We recommend relentless monitoring of all pregnant women in addition to testing them before delivery or the first contact with newborns.

Objectives: We investigated the extent to which Brazilian and Portuguese Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) had casual sex partners outside their homes during the period of sheltering in place for the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online survey was conducted in Brazil and Portugal in April, during the period of social isolation for COVID-19, with a sample of 2361 MSMs. Recruitment was done through meeting apps and Facebook. Results: Most of the sample (53.0%) had casual sex partners during sheltering. Factors that increased the odds of engaging in casual sex in Brazil were having group sex (aOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.3–3.4), living in an urban area (aOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.2), feeling that sheltering had a high impact on daily life (aOR 3.0, 95% CI 1.1–8.3), having casual instead of steady partners (aOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.8–3.5), and not decreasing the number of partners (aOR 6.5, 95% CI 4.2–10.0). In Portugal, the odds of engaging in casual sex increased with using Facebook to find partners (aOR 4.6, 95% CI 3.0–7.2), not decreasing the number of partners (aOR 3.8, 95% CI 2.9–5.9), usually finding partners in physical venues (pre-COVID-19) (aOR 5.4, 95% CI 3.2–8.9), feeling that the isolation had a high impact on daily life (aOR 3.0, 95% CI 1.3–6.7), and HIV-positive serostatus (aOR 11.7, 95% CI 4.7–29.2). Taking PrEP/Truvada to prevent COVID-19 was reported by 12.7% of MSM. Conclusions: The pandemic has not stopped most of our MSM sample from finding sexual partners, with high-risk sexual behaviors continuing.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) has caused concerns due to the possible fluctuations that may occur directly impacting the control of the pandemic. In this study, we aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with COVID-19 VH in Portuguese-speaking countries. We developed a web survey (N:6,843) using an online, structured, and validated questionnaire. We used Measurement Models, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Structural Equation Models, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis for the data analysis. The overall prevalence of COVID-19 VH in Portuguese-speaking countries was 21.1%. showed a statistically significant direct effect for VH: vaccine-related conspiracy beliefs (VB) (β = 0.886), perceived stress (PS) (β = 0.313), COVID-19 Misinformation (MIS) (β = 0.259) and individual responses to COVID-19 (CIR) (β = −0.122). The effect of MIS and CIR for VH was greater among men and of PS and VB among women; the effect of PS was greater among the youngest and of VB and CIR among the oldest. No discrepant differences were identified in the analyzed education strata. In conclusion, we found that conspiracy beliefs related to the vaccine strongly influence the decision to hesitate (not to take or to delay the vaccine). Specific characteristics related to gender, age group, social and cognitive vulnerabilities, added to the knowledge acquired, poorly substantiated and/or misrepresented about the COVID-19 vaccine, need to be considered in the planning of vaccination campaigns. It is necessary to respond in a timely, fast, and accurate manner to the challenges posed by vaccine hesitancy.

Objective: To analyze the relationships between sociodemographic variables, intolerance to uncertainty (INT), social support, and psychological distress (i.e., indicators of Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) and perceived stress (PS)) in Brazilian men during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study with national coverage, of the web survey type, and conducted with 1006 Brazilian men during the period of social circulation restriction imposed by the health authorities in Brazil for suppression of the coronavirus and control of the pandemic. Structural equation modeling analysis was performed. Results: Statistically significant direct effects of race/skin color (λ = 0.268; p-value < 0.001), socioeconomic status (SES) (λ = 0.306; p-value < 0.001), household composition (λ = 0.281; p-value < 0.001), PS (λ = 0.513; p-value < 0.001), and INT (λ = 0.421; p-value < 0.001) were evidenced in the occurrence of CMDs. Black-skinned men with higher SES, living alone, and with higher PS and INT levels presented higher prevalence values of CMDs. Conclusions: High levels of PS and INT were the factors that presented the strongest associations with the occurrence of CMDs among the men. It is necessary to implement actions to reduce the stress-generating sources as well as to promote an increase in resilience and the development of intrinsic reinforcements to deal with uncertain threats.

Strengthening strategies to improve adherence to the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in key populations constitutes a global health priority to be achieved across countries, especially in countries that share a high flow of people such as Brazil and Portugal. This study aimed to analyze the factors associated with adherence to PrEP among MSM from two Portuguese-speaking countries, highlighting the opportunities and preventive strategies for the global health scenario. This was a cross-sectional analytical online survey conducted from January 2020 to May 2021 with MSM in Brazil and Portugal. For analysis of the data, the Poisson regression model was used to estimate the prevalence ratio (PR) for developing a model to evaluate the associated factors in both countries in a comparative and isolated way. Adherence to PrEP use corresponded to 19.5% (n = 1682) of the overall sample: 18.3% (n = 970) for Brazil and 21.5% (n = 712) for Portugal. Having more than two sex partners in the last 30 days (aPR: 30.87) and routinely undergoing HIV tests (aPR: 26.21) increased the use of this medication. Being an immigrant (PR: 1.36) and knowing the partner’s serological status (PR: 1.28) increased adherence to PrEP in Portugal, whereas, in Brazil, it was being an immigrant (PR: 0.83) and not knowing the serological status (PR: 2.24) that promoted the use of this medication. Our findings reinforce the need to invest in programs and strategies to improve access and adherence to PrEP, especially in key populations.

Objectives: to discuss the repercussions of chemsex on the health of men who have sex with men (MSM), contextualizing it in a global health scenario and pointing out the implications for nursing care. Methods: theoretical-reflexive study based on scientific literature and concepts related to global health. Results: we present the epidemiology of the chemsex phenomenon, the main demands of the field, the reasons why it has become a global public health problem, and the implications for nursing practice. Final Considerations: chemsex is growing in all age groups of MSM and is globally benefiting from location-based applications to gain magnitude, finding an important potential audience in the migrant population. Nursing structures can help accelerate the proposal and implementation of biomedical and behavioral measures to address chemsex in its entirety, qualifying care and inducing teamwork with interprofessional collaboration.