According to the World Health Organization, one in every 10 people has a disability, and more than two-thirds of them do not receive any type of oral dental care. The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 guarantees all civilians including disabled people the right to healthcare, shaping the guidelines of the Brazilian National Health Care System (Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS). However, there is limited information about the true accessibility of dental services. This study evaluated the accessibility of public dental services to persons with disabilities in Fortaleza, Ceará, which has the third highest disability rate in Brazil. A cross-sectional quantitative study using structured questionnaires was administered to dentists (n = 89) and people with disabilities (n = 204) to evaluate the geographical, architectural, and organizational accessibility of health facilities, the communication between professionals and patients with disabilities, the demand for dental services, and factors influencing the use of dental services by people with motor, visual, and hearing impairments. 43.1% of people with disabilities do not recognize their service as a priority of Basic Health Units (BHU), 52.5% do not usually seek dental care, and of those who do (n = 97), 76.3% find it difficult to receive care and 84.5% only seek care on an emergency basis. Forty-five percent are unaware of the services offered in the BHU. Of the dentists, 56.2% reported difficulty in communicating with deaf patients, and 97.8% desired interpreters stationed in the BHU. People with disabilities gave better accessibility ratings than dentists (p = 0.001). 37.3% of the patients and 43.8% of dentists reported inadequate physical access infrastructure (including doors, hallways, waiting rooms, and offices). Dentists (60%) reported unsafe environments and transportation difficulties as geographical barriers, while most people with disabilities did not report noticing these barriers. While access to dental services has increased in Fortaleza, the lack of accessibility of health units and their surroundings does not promote the treatment of people with disabilities. Cultural, organizational, architectural, geographical, and communication barriers constrain the demand for and use of oral dental care services by this social segment.

Background: Despite advancements in oral health policies, dental caries still a problem. The lack of parents/caregiver’s care regarding child’s oral health, which characterizes neglect, may lead to a high prevalence of caries. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the relation between dental caries and neglect in five year-old children.Methods: Quantitative study performed in two different moments. First, the children underwent oral examinations and physical inspection. Then, a semi-structured interview was performed with parents of children with high and low caries rate.Results: In all, 149 physical inspections and oral exams were performed. The number of decayed, missing and filled teeth – dmf-t was 2.75 (SD 2.83); 16 children had extremely high values (dmf-t ≥7), 85 intermediate values (1 ≤ dmf-t ≥ 6) and 48 extremely low (dmf-t = 0). Nearly all caregivers were female (96.7%; n = 29), mostly mothers (93.3%; n = 28). Associations were found between caries experience and reason of the last consultation (p = 0.011), decayed teeth and child’s oral health perception (p = 0.001). There was a trend towards a significant association between general health and decayed teeth (p = 0.079), general hygiene and caries experience (p = 0.083), and caries experience and number of times the child brushes the teeth (p = 0.086).Conclusion: There’s a relation between caries experience and children’s oral health perception by caregivers, as well as between caries experience and children’s access to dental care. There is a trend towards association between caries experience and risk factors suggestive of neglect.

Objectives: to compare health promotion actions carried out by Family Health teams in Ceará, linked to the School Health Program. Methods: a cross-sectional study involving the first and second cycles of an external assessment of 910 and 1,626 teams from 184 municipalities, which joined the Brazilian National Program for Improvement of Access and Quality of Primary Care. Eight clinical assessment and seven health promotion indicators were assessed, together with health professionals working in schools. Results: the interviewees were nurses (95.6% and 98.3%). Between the cycles, there was an increase in clinical assessment (78.7% and 91.3%), health promotion and disease prevention (82.5% and 89.3%) and survey of students for follow-up (41.4% and 66.4%) in schools. Conclusions: health actions at school advanced between cycles, with nurses as protagonists in school health, which can reduce vulnerabilities in children and adolescents and qualify Primary Care.

Resumo Objetivou-se averiguar a relação da COVID-19 com variáveis de vulnerabilidade social em Fortaleza e verificar a influência da violência no trabalho do ACS e suas implicações no enfrentamento da COVID-19. Dados quantitativos primários (e.g., questionários com ACS) e secundários (e.g., IDH, homicídio, analfabetismo, cobertura do Programa Bolsa Família [PBF] e da Estratégia Saúde da Família [ESF]) foram utilizados. Observou-se relação da COVID-19 com indicadores de vulnerabilidade social, onde os casos têm relação negativa com IDH e analfabetismo; e os óbitos relação positiva com taxa de homicídios e cobertura do PBF. Regiões com altas taxas de óbito por COVID-19 e vulnerabilidade social possuem maior cobertura da ESF e menor realização de visita domiciliar pelo ACS. A atuação deste, no enfrentamento da pandemia, é limitada pela violência do território. A plena atuação do ACS, no enfrentamento da COVID-19, é dependente de políticas intersetoriais. Assim, a construção de uma política de enfrentamento da COVID-19, com participação do ACS, precisa levar em consideração, além de seu adequado treinamento na prevenção e detecção de COVID-19, ações intersetoriais para o enfrentamento e prevenção da violência no território.