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This paper presents the structuring dimensions of the CEP-Conep System in order to understand the actions promoted by the National Research Ethics Commission in response to demands for the processing and ethical analysis of research protocols related to COVID-19 in 2020. Based on CEP-Conep System public documents, an assessment of legislation, from 1988 to 2020, and its extension in terms of the number of Committees, users, and protocols, from 2012 to 2020 was presented. The minutes of Conep's Ordinary Meetings (RO), for 2020, of a confidential nature, were analyzed, to verify adaptations to the pandemic. At the end of 2020, the System had 844 Committees, 854,741 users, and 701,791 analyzed protocols. The Commission centralized the analysis of COVID-19 protocols, in January 2020, and promoted three decentralizations, as more knowledge was generated, with vaccine protocols for COVID-19 remaining centralized. The history of the CEP-Conep System provided ballast for the adoption of management, educational and communication measures that accelerated the approval of protocols and made the process transparent. The absence of indicators made it impossible to evaluate the performance in 2020, which was apparently satisfactory.

Background: Brazil leads the world in number of firearm deaths and ranks sixth by country in rate of firearm deaths per 100,000 people. This study aims to analyze trends in and burden of mortality by firearms, according to age and sex, for Brazil, and the association between these deaths and indicators of possession and carrying of weapons using data from the global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors study (GBD) 2017., Methods: We used GBD 2017 estimates of mortality due to physical violence and self-harm from firearms for Brazil to analyze the association between deaths by firearms and explanatory variables., Results: Deaths from firearms increased in Brazil from 25,819 in 1990 to 48,493 in 2017. Firearm mortality rates were higher among men and in the 20-24 age group; the rate was 20 times higher than for women in the same age group. Homicide rates increased during the study period, while mortality rates for suicides and accidental deaths decreased. The group of Brazilian federation units with the highest firearm collection rate (median = 7.5) showed reductions in the rate of total violent deaths by firearms. In contrast, the group with the lowest firearm collection rate (median = 2.0) showed an increase in firearm deaths from 2000 to 2017. An increase in the rate of voluntary return of firearms was associated with a reduction in mortality rates of unintentional firearm deaths (r = -0.364, p < 0.001). An increase in socio-demographic index (SDI) was associated with a reduction in all firearm death rates (r = -0.266, p = 0.008). An increase in the composite index of firearms seized or collected was associated with a reduction in rates of deaths by firearm in the subgroup of females, children, and the elderly (r = -0.269, p = 0.005)., Conclusions: There was a change in the trend of firearms deaths after the beginning of the collection of weapons in 2004. Federation units that collected more guns have reduced rates of violent firearm deaths.

Sexual violence against children and adolescents is a serious threat to the rights and full health of this age group. This study aims to describe the characteristics of mothers aged up to 13, and analyze the profile of cases of notified rape in this age range and repercussions of this violence during pregnancy and childbirth. It is a comparative study of the characteristics of gestation and childbirth of girls aged up to 13 who have had children, without or with notification of rape, in the Violence & Accidents Vigilance (VIVA) System of the Brazilian Case Registry Database (Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação - SINAN). A significant percentage (67.5%) of the girls aged up to 13 with children were of the black race/color category. There was repeated violence in 58.2% of cases. The notified rape victims have a higher percentage of birth by cesarean section, late onset and a lower number of prenatal consultations; and their babies had lower birthweight and lower 1-minute Apgar scores than mothers without rape notification. Rape of children and adolescents is an important risk factor that has repercussions during pregnancy, and complications in delivery and childbirth.