The fifth edition of the International Congress on Primary Health Care (CIAPS), organized by the Center for Studies, Research and Extension in Permanent Education for SUS (NUEPES) of the Universidade Federal do PiauĂ (UFPI), addressed the important topic “Bringing science closer to practice for Women’s Health in times of COVID-19 ”, through Workshops, Conferences, Presentations and Independent Works. The event was broadcast on the institutional YouTube channel.
The congress opened with the keynote address “Maternal care in times of COVID-19” by Bremen de Mucio, specialist in Gynecology and Obstetrics and Health Services Management of the Latin American Center for Perinatology, Women’s and Reproductive Health (CLAP) of PAHO/WHO, moderated by the director of BIREME, Diego González. Bremen de Mucio presented the results of his work on maternal health at CLAP, highlighting that there is little information shared about SARS-CoV-2 and its effects on maternal health. He also explained that during the pandemic, three interventions were recommended for pregnant women: (1) maintain traditional measures of protection and prevention against infections; (2) stimulate the demand for prenatal care and guarantee access to prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care; and (3) vaccination. During his presentation, the specialist shared data and research carried out in Latin American countries, including Brazil.
Other relevant topics were dealt with in 4 round tables that gathered more than 20 speakers: Maternal Mortality; Evidence-Based Strategies for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality; Contributions of Integrative and Complementary Health Practices (PICS) for Women’s Health; and Pregnancy in times of COVID. In the modality of presentation of independent works, 49 works were selected and presented, of which 20 were selected and classified for publication.
The representativeness of participation and the opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge.
The 5th CIAPS brought together more than 500 participants including students, teachers, managers, researchers, and health professionals from many cities in Brazil and from other countries such as Portugal, Uruguay, Mexico, and Colombia. There were 3 days of activities carried out virtually, with open transmission.
The CIAPS offered the opportunity for training and the exchange of experiences and knowledge through 7 simultaneous workshops, with 30 participants and 6 hours of workload, each. The workshops were: Urgency and Emergency in at-risk pregnant women; Investigation and analysis of maternal deaths; Nutritional Care for Women’s Health: from Fertility to Pregnancy and Lactation; Integrative and Complementary Practices for Women’s Health; Preparation of evidence maps; Technical terms of how to diagnose COVID-19 through PCR; and Qualitative research applied in the health field.
It is also worth highlighting the representativeness of Brazilian health authorities in the opening session, with the presence of the Provost of the UFPI, Gildásio Guedes, coordinator of the event, of the teacher and executive coordinator of UNA-SUS/UFPI, Lis Cardoso Marinho Medeiros, in addition to the following authorities: Vice Governor of PiauĂ, Regina Sousa; the President of FMS, Gilberto Albuquerque; the Director of BIREME, Diego González; Coordinator of the National Commission for Women’s Health Cofen, Valdecyr Herdy Alves; the President of CABSIn, Ricardo Ghelman; the Director of CLAP/PAHO/WHO, Suzanne Serruya; the APS Consultant at OPAS Brazil and representing Socorro Gross, Lely Guzman; the Vice President of the Brazilian Phytotherapy Association, AntĂ´nio Carlos de Carvalho Seixlack; the President of Cosems-PI, Auridene Moreira; the State Representative Flora Izabel; the President of Fiocruz BrasĂlia and Executive Secretary of UNASUS, Maria Fabiana Damásio Passos; the President of CONASEMS, Wilames Freire Bezerra, represented by Marcela Alvarenga, President of Cosems-PI; State Representative of PiauĂ – President of the Health Commission of the Assembly; Francisco de Assis Oliveira Costa; NUEPES Coordinator, Francisco Meton Marques de Lima; representing the President of the Council of State Health Secretaries (CONASS), Carlos Eduardo de Oliveira; the CONASS Technical Advisor, MarĂa JosĂ© Evangelista; and the Vice-Provost of the UFPI and President of the Congress, Viriato Campelo.
Recognizing the Congress Organizers
The success of the organization and implementation of the Congress was highlighted and recognized in the event’s closing session.
The vice-provost of the UFPI and president of the congress, Viriato Campelo thanked all the participants and said: “Our university is perfectly organized with this event, which is of international importance and focuses on maternal mortality, which continues to be a major problem of public health in Brazil and PiauĂ. I congratulate Professor Lis Marinho, who has been able to bring together all segments, from organized civil society to representatives of classes, students, national and international researchers. The congress was successful, and we are very happy with its achievement, the UFPI honors us greatly for facing the major health problems in our state”.
In turn, Diego González, director of BIREME/OPS/WHO, said: “I am very happy to be at this closure. Our feeling is that this event has overcome all the challenges that may arise in the organization of an international virtual congress. The theme of CIAPS is a theme that touches us all and I am very impressed with the participation of so many institutions, that we recognize the work of the organizing committee. We feel very proud to have been part of this wonderful effort that we are sure will have a great impact.”.
Ricardo Ghelman, president of the Brazilian Academic Consortium for Integrative Health (CABSIN), also thanked the association between UFPI, BIREME and SESAPI: “This event was a success, bringing together four regions of Brazil. I hope that these alliances between the institutions will last and that we can reap rewards with the work presented at this event”, he said.
Finally, Verónica Abdala, Information Services Manager at BIREME, highlighted with enthusiasm the great success of the 5th CIAPS: “The event is about building bridges, an articulation between the levels between knowledge and practice, between directors, the academy, from the undergraduate to the post-graduate. This demonstrates the capacity of the event to make these articulations and the necessary integration for us to have a more equitable and effective health system”.