Challenges for nursing education in Angola: the perception of nurse leaders affiliated with professional education institutions

Background: Angola is one of the African countries with the highest morbidity and mortality rates and a devastating lack of human resources for health, including nursing. The World Health Organization stimulates and takes technical cooperation initiatives for human resource education and training in health and education, with a view to the development of countries in the region. The aim in this study was to identify how nurses affiliated with nursing education institutions perceive the challenges nursing education is facing in Angola. Methods: After consulting the National Directory of Human Resources in Angola, the nurse leaders affiliated with professional nursing education institutions in Angola were invited to participate in the study by email. Data were collected in February 2009 through the focus group technique. The group of participants was focused on the central question: what are the challenges faced for nursing education in your country? To register and understand the information, besides the use of a recorder, the reporters elaborated an interpretative report. Data were coded using content analysis. Results: Fourteen nurses participated in the meeting, most of whom were affiliated with technical nursing education institutions. It was verified that the nurse leaders at technical and higher nursing education institutions in Angola face many challenges, mainly related to the lack of infrastructure, absence of trained human resources, bureaucratic problems to regularize the schools and lack of material resources. On the opposite, the solutions they present are predominantly centered on the valuation of nursing professionals, which implies cultural and attitude changes. Conclusions: Public health education policies need to be established in Angola, including action guidelines that permit effective nursing activities. Professional education institutions need further regularizations and nurses need to be acknowledged as key elements for the qualitative enhancement of health services in the country.

Estudo alométrico da aptidão funcional de crianças e jovens rurais de Moçambique

Pesquisas em contextos Africanos nas quais se estuda o desempenho motor de crianças através do método alométrica são escassas. O estudo teve como objetivo averiguar a variabilidade da aptidão funcional de crianças e jovens rurais Moçambicanos por meio do contraste entre expoentes alométricos teóricos e empíricos. Foram medidas a altura e o peso, e avaliada a aptidão funcional com base em testes selecionados das baterias AAHPERD, EUROFIT e Fitnessgram. Foi considerada a equação alométrica fundamental, Y=aXb. Para além das estatísticas descritivas habituais, recorreu-se à ANOVA fatorial para determinar o efeito da idade e do sexo nas variáveis somáticas e funcionais. Aplicou-se uma extensão do modelo alométrico a partir da ANCOVA após transformação logarítmica das variáveis de interesse. Os valores médios de altura e peso aumentam em função da idade, interagindo significativamente com idade e sexo. Constatou-se um efeito da idade nas provas físicas, com maiores médias dos meninos. Os coeficientes alométricos encontrados são distintos dos esperados teoricamente, sendo maiores nas meninas do que nos meninos em quase todas as provas. Pode-se concluir que existe um dimorfismo sexual nas diferenças de médias na aptidão funcional ao longo da idade. Os expoentes empíricos encontrados, em ambos os sexos, são antagônicos aos esperados teoricamente, salientando ausência do pressuposto da similaridade geométrica. Nas meninas, os expoentes alométricos são, em todas as provas, maiores do que dos meninos.