Objectives: to identify and synthesize scientific evidence on the barriers and difficulties for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) use and compliance for HIV. Methods: an integrative literature review, using the MEDLINE/PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Academic Search Premier and Scopus (Elsevier) databases. Results: all (100%) the articles included identified that PrEP users experience some type of structural barrier related to health services such as long distance from the units, suboptimal logistics for taking pills and professional resistance to prescribing PrEP. Furthermore, 63.21% identified social barriers, such as stigma about sexuality and HIV, in addition to individual barriers such as alcohol use, adverse effects, and concerns about long-term toxicity. Conclusions: the barriers to PrEP use are multifactorial. Effective interventions are needed to support PrEP users in accessing, complying with, and retaining health services.

To fight against the rising incidence of syphilis, the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MoH) launched the “Syphilis No!” Project (SNP), with specific resources funded by a parliamentary amendment. Then, in 2018, a national rapid response started to be implemented on the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS, Sistema Único de Saúde) in two strategic lines (1) to reinforce SUS's universal actions and (2) to implement specific ones to 100 municipalities chosen by the MoH as priorities for syphilis congenital response. In 2015, such localities represented 6895% of congenital syphilis cases in Brazil. In this context, SNP has implemented actions to strengthen epidemiological surveillance of acquired syphilis and congenital syphilis by instituting an integrated and collaborative response through health services networks and reinforcing interstate relations. A quasi-experimental study using time series analysis was conducted to assess immediate impacts and changes to the trend in national congenital syphilis before and after the project, from September 2016 to December 2019. Data were assessed considering rates of congenital syphilis per 1,000 live births in all priority municipalities (n=100) covered by the project and in non-priority municipalities (n=5,470) from all five macro-regions of Brazil. Priority municipalities showed a greater reduction (change in trend) in comparison to non-priority. The linear regression model revealed trend changes after the intervention, with both groups of municipalities showing a drop in the average monthly number of cases per 1,000 live births, with a reduction of -0·21 (CI 95% -0·33 to -0·09; p=0·0011) in priority municipalities and of -0·10 (CI 95% -0.19 to -0.02; p=0·0216) in non-priority municipalities. The study using ITS provides important evidence on the direction, timing, and magnitude of the effects of interventions introduced as part of the SNP on congenital syphilis in Brazil. Our results suggest that the Syphilis No! Project influenced the trends of congenital syphilis in Brazil from 2018, with higher reductions achieved in the priority municipalities. The research is funded by a grant to the Syphilis No! Project from Brazilian Ministry of Health (Project Number: 54/2017). The funders had no role in study design, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

(1) Background: Maternal syphilis (MS) and congenital syphilis (CS) are serious public health problems worldwide due to their high morbidity and mortality rates. (2) Objective: Evaluating the applicability of Clinical Protocols and Treatment Guidelines on case incidence trends in Brazil and Portugal. (3) Methods: The review was done through bibliographic research in two public databases and government websites from both countries, published between 2007 and 2022. All guidelines that contained CS and MS were selected. (4) Results and discussion: After evaluation, we found that Brazil and Portugal have adequate protocols for screening and treating congenital and maternal syphilis. (5) Conclusion: The results suggest that CS and MS incidence are notably higher in Brazil than in Portugal due to economic, cultural, and social disparities and the differences in territory size. Therefore, these demographic and socioeconomic factors could strongly influence efforts to fight against syphilis and thus control the infection.

Throughout history, Sexuality Education (SE) has undergone many changes in formal education curricula. The education systems should incorporate SE and promote an understanding of sexuality from the critical perspective of gender. Objectives: To examine the approach to SE in young people in Spain and Portugal, considering the incorporation of the gender perspective, and analyze the legislation in both countries. A scoping review was conducted considering studies with SE programs, gender perspective, and legislation in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, without any time limits. The population consisted of young people aged 10 to 18 years who did not attend higher education. Databases used: CINAHL Complete, ERIC, LILACS, SciELO, MEDLINE, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, Scopus, Open Access Scientific Repository of Portugal, Base de Datos de Tesis Doctorales, Theses and Dissertations Online, and governmental websites. Thirty-two studies were found, including intervention, diagnosis, and documental programs. Eight of the studies adopted the gender perspective. Legislation in both countries is vast, with 23 main references. Although SE is legislated in both countries, the social-health and educational programs are insufficient. The relevance of the gender perspective is not incorporated into SE.

The Virtual Learning Environment of the Brazilian Health System (AVASUS) is a free and open distance education platform of the Ministry of Health (MS). AVASUS is a scalable virtual learning environment that has surpassed 800,000 users, 2 million enrollments, and 310 courses in its catalog. The objective of this paper was to assess the impacts of the educational offerings on health services and AVASUS course participants' professional practice. This study analyzed data from AVASUS, the Brazilian National Registry of Health Care Facilities (CNES), the Brazilian Occupational Classification (CBO), and a questionnaire applied to 720-course participants from five regions of Brazil. After acquiring and extracting data, computational methods were used for the evaluation process. Only the responses of 462 participants were considered for data analysis, as they had a formal link to CNES. The results showed that respondents recommended 76.2% of AVASUS courses to peers. Accordingly, the quality of educational offerings motivated 81.3% of such recommendations. In addition, 75.6% of course participants who answered the questionnaire also indicated that AVASUS course contents contribute to enhancing existing health services in the health facilities where they work. Finally, 24.6% of all responses mentioned that courses available in AVASUS were essential in offering new health services in such facilities.

RESUMO Objetivos: identificar e sintetizar as evidências científicas sobre as barreiras e dificuldades para o uso e adesão da Profilaxia Pré-exposição (PrEP) para o HIV. Métodos: revisão integrativa da literatura, utilizando as bases de dados MEDLINE/PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Academic Search Premier e Scopus (Elsevier). Resultados: todos (100%) os artigos incluídos identificaram que os usuários da PrEP experimentam algum tipo de barreira estrutural relacionada aos serviços de saúde, como longa distância das unidades, logística subótima para retirada de pílulas e resistência profissional para prescrição da PrEP. Ademais, 63,21% identificaram barreiras sociais, como estigma sobre a sexualidade e HIV, além de barreiras individuais, como uso de álcool, efeitos adversos e preocupações com a toxicidade a longo prazo. Conclusões: multifatoriais são as barreiras para o uso da PrEP. Intervenções efetivas são necessárias para apoiar os usuários da PrEP no acesso, adesão e retenção nos serviços de saúde.