Recent marketplace realities and trends have forced health care institutions to adopt strategic orientations that stress a customer focus. Central to such strategic orientations is the effective utilization of service quality practices and philosophies. Toward that end, this research offers health care institutions an affordable methodology. A real-life application of the rapid assessment methodology (RAM) in a health care operational setting is presented. Finally, a framework to guide the implementation of the RAM methodology is outlined and explored.

Introduction: Early detection and case management remain the main strategies in malaria control programme (MCP) in a low endemic area such as in Java Island, Indonesia. These strategies require an understanding of the community’s care-seeking behaviour in relation to the various health services. Since most malaria cases in Java are diagnosed at home by the village malaria workers (VMWs), this study aimed to examine the user-provider interface in early detection and case management of malaria, particularly the interaction between the clinical malaria patients and the VMWs. Methods: The number of blood slides examined and the laboratory results over a 20-year period were retrieved from the routine malaria surveillance system. The population at risk of malaria and the rainfall data were obtained from secondary sources. In addition, age, sex, malaria species, types of drugs, drug and dosage and time lapse between slides taken and examined were recorded from the malaria registers at the three endemic health centres from 1994-1998. The quality of diagnosis was examined by re-reading 153 slides at the Faculty of Medicine, Gadjah Mada University. Prior to using rapid assessment procedures (RAP), we proposed 11 criteria and applied these to 15 published RAP studies in health. For each of the papers, two authors assessed the adequacy of information provided independently. Using the criteria as a guideline for developing a protocol, a RAP study of malaria was thereafter carried out. Data were retrieved from 38 free-listings, 28 in-depth interviews, seven focus group discussions and unstructured observation. A qualitative thematic content analysis was applied. Finally, based on the RAP results, a one-year longitudinal study of care-seeking behaviour of all clinical malaria cases treated by the VMWs was conducted in Mlonggo II area. Age, sex, daily actions and date of consultations were recorded by all VMWs in a diary that covered prior all contacts between the patients and the VMWs. Also, 24 interactions between the VMWs and the patients were audiotaped. Results: The incidence of malaria during the 1990s fluctuated, albeit at the lower level than that of the 1980s, and it reached a peak (3.5/1000 population) during an outbreak in 1996-97. There was no clear association between the El Nino phenomenon and incidence of malaria. The incidence was almost twice as high in children <15 years than in adults (15+ years). In <5 year old children the risk of P. vivax malaria was higher than the risk of P. falciparum. Comparisons between active and passive case detection (ACD and PCD) showed that almost 60% of 10, 493 confirmed malaria cases in Jepara were identified from ACD. ACD also detected significantly higher percentage of P. falciparum gametocyte infections than PCD (14.7% vs. 5.7%). The duration between slides taken to examination was however longer for ACD than for PCD (2.3 vs. 1.1 days). Applying the criteria to the published RAP studies, it was found that information was limited to address subjectivity, staff and ethics criteria. In Jepara, malaria (known as katisen or panas tis) was considered a common but minor illness. This was also reflected by the most common action taken by the patients, i.e. not doing anything. However, when the illness was perceived as important, the community had a good access to different health care providers. Eighty seven percent of cases had been treated by the VMWs on day four of the illness period. On day two, the proportion not treated was significantly higher in male than in female cases (60.7% and 54.6%; p 0.01) and in those <15 years of age compared with those 15+ years (71.3% and 56.9%; p<0.001). Insufficient understanding of malaria signs and symptoms likely leads to delay in illness recognition and treatment. Interactions between the VMWs and the patients were mostly focused on medical tasks, and low compliance with treatment was a common concern of the VMWs in the interaction. Conclusion: El Nino phenomenon was not associated with an epidemic in Jepara. A possible association between age and the risk of P. vivax malaria needs further investigation. In this decentralised health care system, ACD should be continued in a focus endemic area and therefore, efforts to retain the VMWs should be considered. This research showed similar findings between the RAP study and the longitudinal study. A consistent gap was found between the common understanding and the biomedical description of malaria. The performance of the VMWs supports the MCP through early contact with clinical malaria patients. Visits of VMWs within four days of symptom recognition appear to be the ideal situation for both the programme and the community. If case management continues to be the main strategy in MCP in this low endemic area, the emic perspective of the people must be well integrated to improve home treatment. Likewise, simple interventions to strengthen the role of VMWs in home management should be conducted.

Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, housing diverse biota and serving important functions as nursery habitat and feeding grounds. However, nearly 70% of coastal wetlands, including 21% of the salt marshes in Texas, have been lost since 1950, due primarily to coastal development and declines in water quality. Restoration of wetlands is essential to reestablish lost functions, but there is no standard method to assess the ecological health of restored salt marshes in Texas. Numerous recent salt marsh restoration projects in Galveston Bay have made it an ideal model system to develop and implement an ecosystem health assessment, known as a rapid assessment method (RAM). In this study, I modified an established RAM, the Mid-Atlantic Tidal Fringe Assessment, to compare the ecological health of representative reference salt marshes to restored marshes around Galveston Bay. I measured 14 biotic and abiotic characteristics at 12 restored and 6 reference sites around Galveston Bay, and then grouped those measurements into four functional groups: landscape/site characteristics, hydrology, wildlife habitat, and soil characteristics. I then developed a scoring system (minimum 0, maximum 100) to summarize the overall health of each site. Most of the restored salt marshes in this study scored lower than reference marshes. The average reference site score was 81.8 and the average restored site score was 69.7. Functional group values for landscape/site characteristics, soil, and wildlife habitat were significantly lower in restored than in reference sites. In particular, restored sites had more hydrological modifications, more fill material, and fewer macrobenthos than reference wetlands. The Galv-RAM effectively and efficiently identified restoration successes and weaknesses. With this information, management agencies can address restoration shortcomings by adapting management goals. The Galv-RAM will streamline monitoring protocols and facilitate long-term examination of restored wetland health. As a result, management decisions can be modified based on the scores received in different categories or variables to improve and or meet the goals of the project.

abstract: As part of the effort to streamline management efforts in protected areas worldwide and assist accountability reporting, new techniques to help guide conservation goals and monitor progress are needed. Rapid assessment is recognized as a field-level data collection technique, but each rapid assessment index is limited to only the ecoregion for which it is designed. This dissertation contributes to the existing bodies of conservation monitoring and tourism management literature in four ways: (i.) Indicators are developed for rapid assessment in arid and semi-arid regions, and the processes by which new indicators should be developed is explained; (ii.) Interpolation of surveyed data is explored as a step in the analysis process of a dataset collected through rapid assessment; (iii.) Viewshed is used to explore differences in impacts at two study sites and its underutilization in this context of conservation management is explored; and (iv.) A crowdsourcing tool to distribute the effort of monitoring trail areas is developed and deployed, and the results are used to explore this data collection's usefulness as a management tool. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Geography 2013

To improve the quality of services delivered to customers, hotels can benefit from the experiences of manufacturing firms and employ quality and process improvement philosophies/tools with proven track records in the manufacturing industries. This article presents a framework which integrates the tools of Root Cause Analysis (RCA), Benchmarking (BM), Reengineering (RE) and Continuous Improvement (CI) within the context of a Rapid Assessment Methodology (RAM). Application of the framework is illustrated and the potential benefits a hotel can derive from the implementation of the framework are discussed.

abstract: Despite years of effort, the field of conservation biology still struggles to incorporate theories of animal behavior. I introduce in Chapter I the issues surrounding the disconnect between behavioral ecology and conservation biology, and propose the use of behavioral knowledge in population viability analysis. In Chapter II, I develop a framework that uses three strategies for incorporating behavior into demographic models, outline the costs of each strategy through decision analysis, and build on previous work in behavioral ecology and demography. First, relevant behavioral mechanisms should be included in demographic models used for conservation decision-making. Second, I propose rapid behavioral assessment as a useful tool to approximate demographic rates through regression of demographic phenomena on observations of related behaviors. This technique provides behaviorally estimated parameters that may be applied to population viability analysis for use in management. Finally, behavioral indices can be used as warning signs of population decline. The proposed framework combines each strategy through decision analysis to provide quantitative rules that determine when incorporating aspects of conservation behavior may be beneficial to management. Chapter III applies this technique to estimate birthrate in a colony of California sea lions in the Gulf of California, Mexico. This study includes a cost analysis of the behavioral and traditional parameter estimation techniques. I then provide in Chapter IV practical recommendations for applying this framework to management programs along with general guidelines for the development of rapid behavioral assessment. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Biology 2012

Submitted by Aelson Maciera (aelsoncm@terra.com.br) on 2017-05-03T17:40:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissABB.pdf: 2445269 bytes, checksum: c7b781256cf7da3798255d50866adf97 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-05-04T14:13:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissABB.pdf: 2445269 bytes, checksum: c7b781256cf7da3798255d50866adf97 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-05-04T14:13:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissABB.pdf: 2445269 bytes, checksum: c7b781256cf7da3798255d50866adf97 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-04T14:24:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissABB.pdf: 2445269 bytes, checksum: c7b781256cf7da3798255d50866adf97 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-09 / Não recebi financiamento / Agriculture, urbanization and industrialization are some of the human activities that are constantly generating negative impacts on the environment. Much of this degradation directly affects exhaustible lotic systems that are important sources of water supply for the population. This provides the aggravation of problems in obtaining clean water. From this context, the present study aims to assess visual characteristics of habitats in the longitudinal gradient of Araras River and along with the seasonal monitoring of physical and chemical parameters of water quality, state of the natural environment conservation status, while characterizing the changes caused by anthropic activity. For the survey data, 6 points of evaluation were select, ranging from stretches of rural and urban areas. The evaluation took place using the Rapid Assessment Protocol of Habitat Diversity, which at the end of the application, defines the environment preservation level. The monitoring with collection of water samples complied with the climate (drought, intermediate and wet), totaling 13 parameters measured, submitted to analysis of simple variance (ANOVA), using as multiple comparisons test the Tukey test at 5% level of significance. Both, the results of water quality analysis and the PARs analysis showed degradation of shares in the Ribeirão das Araras, as a result of human activities. Regarding seasonality, there was a significant difference only between the parameters: total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chloride, sulfate and electrical conductivity, but without apparent climate relationship. Total phosphorus parameter, except for the 3rd poit, showed values above the limit, established by CONAMA, in the Resolution 357/05, with higher concentrations in the dry season. However, in the 5th point, it was highlighted by having higher concentrations in almost all parameters and also by disagreement in turbidity parameter in the interim period. The protocol described the whole gradient evaluated as amended (48.6 points). The points of greatest environmental criticality were the points 4 and 5, both classified as impacted. Together the tools showed that the points located in the urban area (4 and 5), are the most affected by human activities, mainly because of the margins occupation, channeling, rectification, removal of riparian vegetation, domestic sewage disposal, garbage on the banks, erosion, etc. So, the low-cost of tools adopted here, Ecokit and RAPs, provided to be an efficient way to evaluate the water resources. / Agricultura, urbanização e industrialização são algumas das atividades antrópicas, que estão constantemente gerando impactos negativos ao meio ambiente. Grande parte dessa degradação afeta diretamente os esgotáveis sistemas lóticos que são importantes fontes de abastecimento de água para a população. Isso propicia o agravamento dos problemas em se obter água limpa. Partindo deste contexto, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar características visuais de habitats no gradiente longitudinal do Ribeirão das Araras e juntamente com o monitoramento sazonal dos parâmetros físicos e químicos de qualidade da água, indicar o estado de conservação do ambiente natural, sem deixar de caracterizar as alterações ocasionadas pela atividade antrópica. Para o levantamento dos dados, foram selecionados 6 pontos de avaliação, compreendidos entre trechos da zona rural e urbana. A avaliação se deu com a utilização do Protocolo de Avaliação Rápida da Diversidade de Habitats, que ao final da aplicação, define o nível de preservação do ambiente. O monitoramento com coletas de amostras de água obedeceu à sazonalidade climática (períodos de seca, intermediário e chuvoso), sendo no total 13 parâmetros mensurados, submetidos à análise de variância (ANOVA) simples, utilizando como teste de comparações múltiplas o teste de Tukey ao nível de 5% de significância. Tanto os resultados das análises de qualidade da água, quanto o PARs apontaram ações de degradação na microbacia do Ribeirão das Araras, em decorrência das atividades antrópicas. Quanto a sazonalidade, houve diferença significativa apenas entre os parâmetros: nitrogênio total, fósforo total, cloreto, sulfato e condutividade elétrica, porém sem relação climática aparente. O parâmetro fósforo total, exceto no ponto 3, apresentou valores acima do limite estabelecido pela Resolução CONAMA 357/05, com maiores concentrações no período seco. No entanto, o ponto 5 teve destaque por apresentar maiores concentrações em quase todos os parâmetros e ainda, pela desconformidade no parâmetro turbidez do período intermediário. O protocolo classificou o todo do gradiente avaliado como alterado (48,6 pontos). Os pontos de maior criticidade ambiental foram os pontos 4 e 5, ambos classificados como impactados. Juntas as ferramentas permitiram concluir que os pontos localizados na região urbana (4 e 5) são os mais afetados pelas atividades antrópicas, sobretudo, pela ocupação das margens, canalização, retificação, retirada da vegetação ciliar, despejo de esgotos domésticos, lixo nas margens, processos erosivos, etc. Portanto, as ferramentas de baixo custo aqui adotadas (Ecokit e PARs), mostraram-se de maneira eficiente no que tange a avaliação dos recursos hídricos.

Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-08-03T18:49:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 lucianafalcithezarodrigues.pdf: 3964261 bytes, checksum: cb17da68fd27c92d62f0ac63bc4f1365 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-08-28T13:49:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 lucianafalcithezarodrigues.pdf: 3964261 bytes, checksum: cb17da68fd27c92d62f0ac63bc4f1365 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-28T13:49:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 lucianafalcithezarodrigues.pdf: 3964261 bytes, checksum: cb17da68fd27c92d62f0ac63bc4f1365 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-23 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Nascentes são importantes elementos da paisagem pela sua relevância econômica, social e ecológica. Tendo em vista a crescente degradação desses ecossistemas, aliado ao pouco conhecimento sobre a sua biodiversidade em regiões tropicais, esta tese tem como objetivo geral ampliar o conhecimento sobre nascentes de regiões tropicais e prover um estudo sobre a diversidade e aspectos ecológicos de oligoquetas aquáticos nesse ecossistema. A fim de confirmar a carência de estudos em nascentes, especificamente sobre a fauna de oligoquetas, foi feito um levantamento bibliográfico sobre os estudos realizados em 30 anos (1985-2015) nos mais diversos ambientes aquáticos continentais em todo o mundo. A pesquisa mostrou que nascentes estão entre os ecossistemas menos estudados, juntamente com corpos d’água de cavernas e pântanos. Também realizamos coletas da fauna, medimos variáveis físicas e químicas e aplicamos um protocolo de avaliação rápida (PAR) em nascentes localizadas em diferentes municípios de Minas Gerais, tanto em Unidades de Conservação (UCs) quanto em áreas públicas e particulares. Os resultados mostraram que a composição de espécies de oligoquetas de nascentes que emergem de forma difusa formando uma área alagada (helocreno), é diferente daquela de nascentes que formam riachos (reocreno) e poças (limnocreno), provavelmente devido à sua maior heterogeneidade. Também verificamos que a diversidade beta foi alta nas três tipologias, indicando que os esforços para a conservação desses ecossistemas devem incluir um grande número de nascentes de todas as tipologias. Os resultados desse estudo também enfatizam, após a aplicação do PAR, que, apesar da maioria das nascentes serem classificadas como ótimas, nascentes localizadas em áreas urbanas foram classificadas como razoável ou ruim, mesmo estando algumas delas em UCs. Isso mostra a importância das UCs na preservação das nascentes, assim como sua vulnerabilidade quando inseridas em ambientes urbanos. Concluímos que este estudo sobre as nascentes contribui não apenas para o conhecimento do tema, mas também para a gestão ambiental, pois direciona para os habitats e locais que mais carecem de estudo, mostra a importância de se preservar diferentes tipos de nascentes para a manutenção da diversidade e aponta para a necessidade de maior fiscalização e cumprimento dos dispositivos legais, a fim de evitar maiores alterações nas condições naturais desses ambientes. / Springs are important landscape elements due to its economic, social and ecological importance. In view of the increasing degradation of these ecosystems, added to low knowledge about their biodiversity in tropical regions, the main goal of this study is to increase the knowledge about springs in tropical regions and to provide information on the diversity and ecological aspects of aquatic oligochaetes in this ecosystem. To confirm the lack of studies in springs, specifically considering freshwater oligochaetes, a bibliographic survey has was made basead on the studies carried in a period of 30 years (1985-2015) in various continental aquatic environments around the world. The survey showed that spring are one of the least studied ecosystems, together with cave water bodies and swamps. For this study, fauna was collected, physical and chemical variables were measured, and a rapid assessment protocol (RAP) were applied at spring located in different cities of Minas Gerais State, either in Conservation Units or in public and private areas. The results showed differences among the oligochaetes species composition found in spring that rises diffusely forming a flooded area (helocrene), in comparasion to spring that forms streams (rheocrene) and that ones that forms a pond (limnocrene). Probably, it is due to the high heterogeneity of this kind of spring. We also verified that beta diversity was high at the three types of springs, suggesting that efforts to conserve these ecosystems should include many spring systems of all types. After applying RAP, this study emphasized that, besides the major numbers of spring, water have been classified as optimum also the springs located in urban areas were classified as moderate or poor, even when some of them were located in Conservation Units. This result highlights importance of Conservation Units on spring preservation, and also the vulnerability of these systems when inserted in urban environments. This study contributes not only for academic knowledge, but also for environmental management, once it points out the habitats and places that need more studies, showing the importance of preserving different types of spring systems for the maintenance of diversity. It also indicate the requirements for major inspections and the legal enforcement provisions needed, in order to avoid further transformations in the natural conditions of these systems.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:45:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LUIZ MARCOS COELHO DE SOUZA ARAUJO JUNIOR.pdf: 1195092 bytes, checksum: e0276010209373366f04566078b32cee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-01-21 / This study was carried out in the sub-basin of the São João stream, Palmas TO, bearing as objective: 1) to describe the ecological characteristics (density, abundance, richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity, and evenness) of the assembly of aquatic insects; 2) to verify if there is exist similarity between the sampled assemblies; 3) to indicate which ones among the used environmental factors in the Rapid Assessment Protocol are determining the structure of the assembly of sampled aquatic insects. The samples were carried out in two consecutive periods of rain (2005 and 2006) using Surber sampler at the five sample stations with three replicate at distinct places. A total of 419 organisms distributed in nine orders and 23 families of insects were collected, families that are found in other water courses draining Cerrado regions. The most representative Orders were Odonata and Trichoptera with eight and six families respectively being the family most abundant Leptoceridae. The E2 station situated close to the headwater showed the greatest density 572,22 ind. m-2, on the other hand the lowest abudance (40,74 ind.m-2) was observed at the E5 station, that is located next to the estuary. The analyses of k-dominance and rarefaction indicated that the stations E2 and E5 presented high dominance. The analyses of Shannon-Wiener and evenness presenting variations in their values of the diversity of each sample station had not presented significant resulted. The index of Morisita-Horn pointed the pairs of stations (E1 and E2) and (E4 and E5) with high degree of similarity. The analysis of Co-inertia indicates that eight variables related to the velocity of the water (frequent run and riffles, run with the width of the canal), substratum (gravel, mud, and pebbles), diversity of habitat, and transparency of the water structuralizes the assemblies of aquatic insects. / Este estudo foi realizado na sub-bacia do ribeirão São João, Palmas - TO objetivando: 1) descrever as características ecológicas (densidade, abundância, riqueza, diversidade Shannon-Wiener e uniformidade) da assembléia de insetos aquáticos; 2) verificar a existência de similaridade entre as assembléias amostradas; 3) indicar quais entre os fatores ambientais utilizados no Protocolo de Avaliação Rápida determinam a estrutura da assembléia de insetos amostrada. As amostras foram realizadas utilizando-se um coletor tipo Surber em dois períodos consecutivos de chuvas (2005 e 2006), em cinco estações amostrais com três repetições em locais distintos. Foram coletados 419 organismos distribuídos em nove ordens e 23 famílias de insetos, as quais são encontradas em outros cursos de água drenando regiões de Cerrado. As Ordens mais representativas foram Odonata e Trichoptera com oito e seis famílias respectivamente sendo a família mais abundante Leptoceridae. A estação E2 localizada próximo a nascente apresentou maior densidade 572,22 ind. m-2, enquanto que a menor (40,74 ind.m-2) foi observada na E5, a qual está localizada próxima à foz. As análises de k-dominância e rarefação indicam que as estações E2 e E5 apresentam dominância elevada. As análises de Shannon-Wiener e Uniformidade mesmo apresentando variações nos valores da diversidade de cada estação amostral não apresentaram resultados significativos. O índice de Morisita-Horn apontou os pares de estações (E1 e E2) e (E4 e E5) com alto grau de similaridade. A análise da Co-inércia indica que oito variáveis relacionadas à velocidade da água (presença freqüente de rápidos e corredeiras, rápidos da largura do canal), substrato (cascalho, presença de lama e seixos), diversidade do hábitat, e transparência da água estruturam as assembléias de insetos aquáticos.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / IntroduÃÃo: Existe pouco conhecimento sistemÃtico sobre a epidemiologia da tungÃase em Ãreas endÃmicas. SÃo necessÃrios mÃtodos de avaliaÃÃo rÃpida para delimitar Ãreas em risco e possibilitar a implementaÃÃo e avaliaÃÃo do impacto de intervenÃÃes. Objetivo: Desenvolver e avaliar um mÃtodo epidemiolÃgico rÃpido para estimar a prevalÃncia geral e a gravidade da tungÃase em comunidades endÃmicas com diferentes caracterÃsticas demogrÃficas, sÃcio-culturais e ambientais. Material e MÃtodos: AnÃlise de dez estudos transversais realizados em cinco comunidades, trÃs do Brasil (dados secundÃrios) e duas da NigÃria (dados primÃrios), no perÃodo de 2001-2008. A tungÃase foi diagnosticada clinicamente a partir da presenÃa de lesÃes de Tunga penetrans na epiderme dos indivÃduos. Para elaborar o mÃtodo rÃpido, seis localizaÃÃes topogrÃficas dos pÃs foram selecionadas como potenciais indicadores de infestaÃÃo em nÃvel comunitÃrio. Foram feitas regressÃes lineares, calculados coeficientes de determinaÃÃo (R2) e os valores p. CritÃrios operacionais como rapidez e facilidade do exame tambÃm foram utilizados para a escolha do mÃtodo mais adequado. Resultados: Ao todo, nos dez estudos transversais foram incluÃdos 7.121 indivÃduos. As prevalÃncias da tungÃase variaram entre 21% e 54%. Nas duas comunidades nigerianas a prevalÃncia geral da tungÃase nas 302 pessoas examinadas foi 47% (intervalo de confianÃa 95%: 41%-53%). Os homens foram mais infestados do que as mulheres (51% vs. 44%, p=0,2), assim como as crianÃas em comparaÃÃo aos indivÃduos >15 anos (60% vs. 33%, p<0,0001). Na anÃlise dos potencias mÃtodos rÃpidos, os coeficientes de determinaÃÃo foram altos, variaram entre 70% e 96% para as seis localizaÃÃes topogrÃficas, com valores p significantes (todos <0,002). A prevalÃncia na area periungueal dos pÃs apresentou o mais alto coeficiente de determinaÃÃo (96%), alÃm da maior rapidez e facilidade do exame. As prevalÃncias gerais estimadas a partir da equaÃÃo da reta Y= 1,12 x prevalÃncia na Ãrea periungueal + 5,0 apresentaram mÃdia do erro absoluto de 1,9%. PrevalÃncias graves (> 20 lesÃes), estimadas pela equaÃÃo da reta Y= 0,24 x prevalÃncia na Ãrea periungueal - 3,4, apresentaram erro absoluto mÃdio de 0,9%. ConclusÃo: A tungÃase à um problema de saÃde pÃblica em comunidades pesqueiras na NigÃria. A identificaÃÃo de T. penetrans na Ãrea periungueal dos pÃs pode ser usada como mÃtodo rÃpido e confiÃvel de avaliaÃÃo epidemiolÃgica. Sua aplicaÃÃo auxiliarà na delimitaÃÃo de Ãreas endÃmicas, bem como no planejamento de medidas que visem à reduÃÃo da tungÃase em Ãreas endÃmicas. . / . Rapid assessment methods are needed to delimitation of risk communities and to enable implementation and evaluation of impact interventions. Objective: To develop and assess a rapid epidemiologic method to estimate the overall prevalence of tungiasis and severity of disease in endemic communities with distinct demographic, socio-cultural and environment characteristics. Material and Methods: Analysis data from ten population-based surveys on tungiasis, performed in five endemic communities â three in Brazil (secondary data) and two Nigeria (primary data) â between 2001 and 2008. In all surveys, tungiasis was clinically diagnostic by presence of Tunga penetrans into epidermis of participants. To elaborate rapid assessment method six topographic sites of the feet were selected as potential infestation indicator in community level. Linear regression analyses were performed as well strength of associations (R2) and p values were calculated. Estimated prevalences were calculated for each of the ten surveys and compared to true prevalences. The most useful topographic localization to define a rapid assessment method was select based on the strength of association and operational aspects. Result: In total, 7121 individuals of the five communities were examined. Prevalence of tungiasis varied between 21.1% and 54.4%. In the two Nigerian communities the combined overall prevalence was 47% (142/302; 95% confidente intervale: 41%-53%). Tungiasis were more common in males than in females (51,5% vs. 46,3%; p=0,2). Children prevalence (<14 years) was statistically higher then adolescents and adults prevalence (60% vs. 33%, p<0,0001). In the ten surveys, all strength coefficients were high for the six localizations (ranged between 70% and 96%) and p values were significant (all <0,002). The presence of periungual lesions on the toes showed the highest strength coefficient (R2=96%; P<0.0001) and it was identified as the most useful and rapid localization to estimate the prevalence of tungiasis. Estimating prevalence of tungiasis by equation [estimated prevalence] = 1,12 x [prevalence on periungual sites] + 5,0), the mean absolute error was 1,9%. Tungiasis on this topographic site also reliably estimated prevalence of severe disease (>20 lesions) using the equation [estimated prevalence] = 0,24 x [prevalence on periungual sites] â 3,4); mean absolute error was 0,9%. Conslusion: Tungiasis is a public health problem in the fishing communities in Nigeria. Identification of T. penetrans in the periungual area of the feet can be used as a rapid and reliable method to assess the epidemiological situation of endemic areas. This approach will help to delimit endemic communities and to plan control measures aimed at the reduction of tungiasis. Key-words: Tungiasis; Tunga penetrans; Epidemiology; Rapid assessment method; Public Health; Africa; Brazil