Consumer attitudes, knowledge, and behavior related to salt consumption in sentinel countries of the Americas

Objective. To describe individual attitudes, knowledge, and behavior regarding salt intake, its dietary sources, and current food-labeling practices related to salt and sodium in five sentinel countries of the Americas. Methods. A convenience sample of 1 992 adults (>= 18 years old) from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, and Ecuador (approximately 400 from each country) was obtained between September 2010 and February 2011. Data collection was conducted in shopping malls or major commercial areas using a questionnaire containing 33 questions. Descriptive estimates are presented for the total sample and stratified by country and sociodemographic characteristics of the studied population. Results. Almost 90% of participants associated excess intake of salt with the occurrence of adverse health conditions, more than 60% indicated they were trying to reduce their current intake of salt, and more than 30% believed reducing dietary salt to be of high importance. Only 26% of participants claimed to know the existence of a recommended maximum value of salt or sodium intake and 47% of them stated they knew the content of salt in food items. More than 80% of participants said that they would like food labeling to indicate high, medium, and low levels of salt or sodium and would like to see a clear warning label on packages of foods high in salt. Conclusions. Additional effort is required to increase consumers' knowledge about the existence of a maximum limit for intake and to improve their capacity to accurately monitor and reduce their personal salt consumption.

Breastfeeding: knowledge and practice

The objective of this study was to characterize the practices of breastfeeding promotion developed by nursing professionals of the Family Health Strategy and analyze the correlation between their knowledge of breastfeeding and how often they provided teaching regarding this topic. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was performed at the Family Health Strategy units of Uberaba, Minas Gerais with 85 nursing professionals, using two questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using frequency distribution and Spearman's correlation analysis. Most professionals said that they often addressed breastfeeding in the investigated practices. However, a poor correlation was observed between the frequency of this approach and the mean score on knowledge test. The nursing professionals' statements indicate that breastfeeding recommendations were provided regardless of their knowledge on the topic.

NURSES AND THE ASSESSMENT IN HEALTH SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

The objective of this study was to undertake a critical reflection regarding assessment as a managerial tool that promotes the inclusion of nurses in the health system management process. Nurses, because of their education and training, which encompasses knowledge in both the clinical and managerial fields and is centered on care, have the potential to assume a differentiated attitude in management, making decisions and proposing health policies. Nevertheless, it is necessary to first create and consolidate an expressive inclusion in decisive levels of management. Assessment is a component of management, the results of which may contribute to making decisions that are more objective and allow for improving healthcare interventions and reorganizing health practice within a political, economic, social and professional context; it is also an area for the application of knowledge that has the potential to change the current panorama of including nurses in management.

AFFECTION IN ELDERLY CARE FROM THE NURSES' PERSPECTIVE

The objective of this study was to describe, from the nurses' perspective, the meaning of effective/affective care, the interference factors, and the learning promoted from dealing with elderly inpatients, as well as their perception of feeling ready or not to engage in caring. This qualitative study was performed with nurses from a hospital located in the Midwestern region of the State of Sao Paulo. The findings show that the meaning of providing effective/affective care involves knowing the client within his/her social framework, while it crosses the borders of sheer technical care and encompasses fulfilling the client's needs and requirements. Interferences in dealing with the elderly refer to those situations connected with the patients' conditions, work dynamics, and environmental and management adaptations. All surveys showed that despite feeling well prepared, nurses are aware of the need to study fields such as geriatrics and gerontology to a deeper extent. Complete and quality care is only possible if it includes techniques, knowledge and the ability to deal with others with patience and attention to detail.

Awareness and knowledge of HPV, cervical cancer, and vaccines in young women after first delivery in São Paulo, Brazil - a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background The success of HPV vaccination programs will require awareness regarding HPV associated diseases and the benefits of HPV vaccination for the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness and knowledge of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, cervical cancer prevention, vaccines, and factors associated with HPV awareness among young women after birth of the first child. Methods This analysis is part of a cross-sectional study carried out at Hospital Maternidade Leonor Mendes de Barros, a large public maternity hospital in Sao Paulo. Primiparous women (15-24 years) who gave birth in that maternity hospital were included. A questionnaire that included questions concerning knowledge of HPV, cervical cancer, and vaccines was applied. To estimate the association of HPV awareness with selected factors, prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated using a generalized linear model (GLM). Results Three hundred and one primiparous women were included; 37% of them reported that they "had ever heard about HPV", but only 19% and 7%, respectively, knew that HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and that it can cause cervical cancer. Seventy-four percent of interviewees mentioned the preventive character of vaccines and all participants affirmed that they would accept HPV vaccination after delivery. In the multivariate analysis, only increasing age (P for trend = 0.021) and previous STI (P < 0.001) were factors independently associated with HPV awareness ("had ever heard about HPV"). Conclusions This survey indicated that knowledge about the association between HPV and cervical cancer among primiparous young women is low. Therefore, these young low-income primiparous women could benefit greatly from educational interventions to encourage primary and secondary cervical cancer prevention programs.

Knowledge management in health: a systematic literature review

Knowledge has been used as a resource for intelligent and effective action planning in organizations. Interest in research on knowledge management processes has intensified in different areas. A systematic literature review was accomplished, based on the question: what are the contributions of Brazilian and international journal publications on knowledge management in health? The sample totaled 32 items that complied with the inclusion criteria. The results showed that 78% of journals that published on the theme are international, 77% of researchers work in higher education and 65% have a Ph.D. The texts gave rise to five thematic categories, mainly: development of knowledge management systems in health (37.5%), discussion of knowledge management application in health (28.1%) and nurses' function in knowledge management (18.7%).

Nurses and care delivery to elderly women: a social phenomenological approach

OBJECTIVE: To understand how nurses see care delivery to elderly women. METHODS: In this phenomenological study, ten nurses working at Primary Health Care Units were interviewed between September 2010 and January 2011. RESULTS: In care delivery, nurses consider the elderly women's knowledge background and biographical situation, and also value the family's participation as a care mediator. These professionals have the acuity to capture these women's specific demands, but face difficulties to deliver care to these clients. Nurses expect to deliver qualified care to these women. CONCLUSION: The theoretical and methodological approach of social phenomenology permitted revealing that the nurse designs qualified care to elderly women, considering the possibilities in the context. This includes the participation of different social actors and health sectors, assuming collective efforts in action strategies and professional training, in line with the particularities and care needs of elderly women nurses identify.