Palliative Care (PC) is presented as a public health problem, due to the substantial increase in the number of elderly and the prevalence of non-communicable chronic degenerative diseases. The importance of the reorganization of Primary Health Care Services (PHCS) to ensure the provision of this care has become evident. The objective was to identify cases of users, in order to inventory the ethical problems that the team experienced. This is a case study based on a Qualitative approach, using thematic analysis. Two cases were identified, that revealed, as ethical problems, the "responsibility of the PHCS towards the caregivers and families" and the "difficulty of frank and honest communication between the team and the family". The results indicate that the training of human resources with technical competence and the continuity of assistance in the transition from curative to palliative treatment are factors favorable to the integrality and the obtention of more adequate responses to the ethical challenges that the teams experienced.

OBJECTIVE Analyzing the relationship between social support, quality of life and depression in patients eligible for palliative care at Primary Health Care of a municipality in the interior of Minas Gerais, Brazil. METHOD A correlational cross-sectional study carried out with patients treated in six primary health care units. Data were submitted to descriptive statistical analysis, tests for differences between averages and medians, and correlation tests. The significance level was 0.05. RESULTS The sample consisted of 115 participants, and it was identified that the higher the social support, the better the global quality of life (p<0.001) and functional quality of life (p=0.035); the greater the presence of physical symptoms, the lower the level of social support (p=0.012) and the higher the level of depression (p<0.001); the higher the symptoms of depression, the worse the global quality of life (p<0.001), functional quality of life (p<0.001) and the lower the levels of social support (p<0.001). CONCLUSION Levels of quality of life, social support and depression of patients eligible for palliative care are influenced by socioeconomic factors such as marital status, gender, age, income, education and presence of a caregiver.

New demands for primary health care in Brazil: palliative care

Objective. To determine the main changes that took place in the daily lives of students in the health area during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. Method. This is a cross-sectional study, carried out from May to June 2020, with 1786 students over 18 years old, regularly enrolled in health courses at higher education institutions in five regions of Brazil. Sampling was by convenience, typified as snowball. In order to collect data, an instrument to describe the sociodemographic profile and the daily lives of students during the pandemic period was used, which was applied via a digital platform on the web. Results. The main changes that took place in the daily lives of academic students in the health area in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil are related to lower productivity; difficulty concentrating; increased hours of sleep, use of electro-electronic equipment and weight; poorer quality of food; higher consumption of food, legal and illegal substances and medications (mainly analgesics, anxiolytics and antidepressants); less interest in personal appearance; and greater contact with relatives. Regarding emotional changes, it should be underlined the complaints of anxiety, stress, anguish, confusion, helplessness and depression. Conclusion. During the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, the students in the health area experienced several changes in their daily lives, which deserve special attention from higher education institutions and health systems, envisioning interventions to minimize health risks to this population.

Objective: Evaluate the effects of clown activities on quality of life, depression, stress, anxiety, aid, and social support in patients eligible for palliative care (PC) attended in Primary Health Care (PHC). Method: A quasi-experimental study, with pre-intervention and post-intervention evaluation, carried out with 16 patients eligible for early PC in PHC in a Midwestern city. Patients received 24 visits with home-based clown activities. Results: The interventions evidenced improved quality of life and social support, with significant results for the Social Activities dimension (p = 0.023). Increased scores for Anxiety (p = 0.007) and Depression (p = 0.023) were also observed. Conclusion: Clown activities can bring positive results for the quality of life and social support of patients eligible for PC at home. They should be encouraged to interact with family knowledge and enhance humanized care, integral and centered on human relationships in PHC.

Resumo Este artigo teve como objetivo caracterizar o perfil dos trabalhadores da Atenção Primária à Saúde e analisar as medidas de proteção de riscos ocupacionais em dois estados brasileiros durante a pandemia da Covid-19. Trata-se de estudo quantitativo do tipo survey, com amostra aleatória de 259 profissionais de saúde da Atenção Primária dos estados de Mato Grosso do Sul e São Paulo no período inicial da pandemia. A maioria dos participantes era do sexo feminino (85,3%), profissionais de enfermagem (40,6%) com idade média de 39,1 anos (dp ± 9,5) e do estado de São Paulo (73%). Utilizaram-se análise descritiva e teste exato de Fisher. Quanto às medidas de proteção de risco ocupacional no trabalho, verificou-se que a imunização antecipada contra influenza teve maior frequência no Mato Grosso do Sul (93,8%), porém 47,7% não tiveram acesso aos testes de Covid-19 neste estado e 24,3% em São Paulo. Os profissionais de nível superior tiveram mais acesso à máscara N95/PFF2 (10,2%) em comparação aos auxiliares e técnicos, com 6,5% e 7,8%, respectivamente. Observaram-se possíveis diferenças nas gestões municipais dos respectivos estados, que parecem não ofertar o acesso equânime de profissionais da Atenção Primária à Saúde a proteção, imunizantes e testes para detecção de SARS-CoV-2.