Panorama dels llibres infantils i juvenils dels anys 2010 i 2011

L"article presenta les tendències observades en la producció de llibres infantils catalans dels anys 2010 i 2011. Essencialment, la situació no ha canviat en relació amb els darrers anys i manté, a grans trets, unes característiques similars (publicacions relacionades amb dates assenyalades, predomini de la narrativa, seguiment dels gèneres de moda), tot i que s"apunten algunes variants relacionades amb la necessitat d"ampliar mercat, com ara l"augment de col·leccions per a petits lectors, la presència de títols que aposten pel missatge educatiu, l"edició de llibres acompanyats de CD i de llibres pop-up concebuts i editats aquí. L"article també repassa breument les aportacions més rellevants dels autors i dels premis publicats en aquest període.

Panorama dels llibres infantils i juvenils dels anys 2010 i 2011

L"article presenta les tendències observades en la producció de llibres infantils catalans dels anys 2010 i 2011. Essencialment, la situació no ha canviat en relació amb els darrers anys i manté, a grans trets, unes característiques similars (publicacions relacionades amb dates assenyalades, predomini de la narrativa, seguiment dels gèneres de moda), tot i que s"apunten algunes variants relacionades amb la necessitat d"ampliar mercat, com ara l"augment de col·leccions per a petits lectors, la presència de títols que aposten pel missatge educatiu, l"edició de llibres acompanyats de CD i de llibres pop-up concebuts i editats aquí. L"article també repassa breument les aportacions més rellevants dels autors i dels premis publicats en aquest període.

Tobacco control policies in hospitals before and after the implementation of a national smoking ban in Catalonia, Spain

Background: Diverse projects and guidelines to assist hospitals towards the attainment of comprehensive smoke-free policies have been developed. In 2006, Spain government passed a new smoking ban that reinforce tobacco control policies and banned completely smoking in hospitals. This study assesses the progression of tobacco control policies in the Catalan Network of Smokefree Hospitals before and after a comprehensive national smoking ban. Methods: We used the Self-Audit Questionnaire of the European Network for Smoke-free Hospitals to score the compliance of 9 policy standards (global score = 102). We used two crosssectional surveys to evaluate tobacco control policies before (2005) and after the implementation of a national smoking ban (2007) in 32 hospitals of Catalonia, Spain. We compared the means of the overall score in 2005 and 2007 according to the type of hospital, the number of beds, the prevalence of tobacco consumption, and the number of years as a smoke-free hospital. Results: The mean of the implementation score of tobacco control policies was 52.4 (95% CI:45.4-59.5) in 2005 and 71.6 (95% CI: 67.0-76.2) in 2007 with an increase of 36.7% (p < 0.01). The hospitals with greater improvement were general hospitals (48% increase; p < 0.01), hospitals with > 300 beds (41.1% increase; p < 0.01), hospitals with employees' tobacco consumption prevalence 35-39% (72.2% increase; p < 0.05) and hospitals that had recently implemented smoke-free policies (74.2% increase; p < 0.01). Conclusion: The national smoking ban appears to increase tobacco control activities in hospitals combined with other non-bylaw initiatives such as the Smoke-free Hospital Network.

Tobacco control policies in hospitals before and after the implementation of a national smoking ban in Catalonia, Spain

Background: Diverse projects and guidelines to assist hospitals towards the attainment of comprehensive smoke-free policies have been developed. In 2006, Spain government passed a new smoking ban that reinforce tobacco control policies and banned completely smoking in hospitals. This study assesses the progression of tobacco control policies in the Catalan Network of Smokefree Hospitals before and after a comprehensive national smoking ban. Methods: We used the Self-Audit Questionnaire of the European Network for Smoke-free Hospitals to score the compliance of 9 policy standards (global score = 102). We used two crosssectional surveys to evaluate tobacco control policies before (2005) and after the implementation of a national smoking ban (2007) in 32 hospitals of Catalonia, Spain. We compared the means of the overall score in 2005 and 2007 according to the type of hospital, the number of beds, the prevalence of tobacco consumption, and the number of years as a smoke-free hospital. Results: The mean of the implementation score of tobacco control policies was 52.4 (95% CI:45.4-59.5) in 2005 and 71.6 (95% CI: 67.0-76.2) in 2007 with an increase of 36.7% (p < 0.01). The hospitals with greater improvement were general hospitals (48% increase; p < 0.01), hospitals with > 300 beds (41.1% increase; p < 0.01), hospitals with employees' tobacco consumption prevalence 35-39% (72.2% increase; p < 0.05) and hospitals that had recently implemented smoke-free policies (74.2% increase; p < 0.01). Conclusion: The national smoking ban appears to increase tobacco control activities in hospitals combined with other non-bylaw initiatives such as the Smoke-free Hospital Network.

Use of alternative and complementary therapies in labor and delivery care: a cross-sectional study of midwives" training in Catalan hospitals accredited as centers for normal birth

Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) during pregnancy is increasing. Scientific evidence for CAM and CAT in the field of obstetrics mainly covers pain relief in labor. Midwives are responsible for labor and delivery care: hence, their knowledge of CAM and CAT is important. The aims of this study are to describe the professional profile of midwives who provide care for natural childbirth in Catalan hospitals accredited as centers for normal birth, to assess midwives" level of training in CAT and their use of these therapies, and to identify specific resources for CAT in labor wards. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative method was used to assess the level of training and use of CAT by midwives working at 28 hospitals in Catalonia, Spain, accredited as public normal birth centers. Results: Just under a third of midwives (30.4%) trained in CAT after completion of basic training. They trained in an average of 5.97 therapies (SD 3.56). The number of CAT in which the midwives were trained correlated negatively with age (r = - 0.284; p < 0.001) and with their time working at the hospital in years (r = - 0.136; p = 0.036). Midwives trained in CAT considered that the following therapies were useful or very useful for pain relief during labor and delivery: relaxation techniques (64.3%), hydrotherapy (84.8%) and the application of compresses to the perineum (75.9%). The availability of resources for providing CAT during normal birth care varied widely from center to center. Conclusions: Age may influence attitudes towards training. It is important to increase the number of midwives trained in CAM for pain relief during childbirth, in order to promote the use of CAT and ensure efficiency and safety. CAT resources at accredited hospitals providing normal childbirth care should also be standardized.

Use of alternative and complementary therapies in labor and delivery care: a cross-sectional study of midwives" training in Catalan hospitals accredited as centers for normal birth

Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) during pregnancy is increasing. Scientific evidence for CAM and CAT in the field of obstetrics mainly covers pain relief in labor. Midwives are responsible for labor and delivery care: hence, their knowledge of CAM and CAT is important. The aims of this study are to describe the professional profile of midwives who provide care for natural childbirth in Catalan hospitals accredited as centers for normal birth, to assess midwives" level of training in CAT and their use of these therapies, and to identify specific resources for CAT in labor wards. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative method was used to assess the level of training and use of CAT by midwives working at 28 hospitals in Catalonia, Spain, accredited as public normal birth centers. Results: Just under a third of midwives (30.4%) trained in CAT after completion of basic training. They trained in an average of 5.97 therapies (SD 3.56). The number of CAT in which the midwives were trained correlated negatively with age (r = - 0.284; p < 0.001) and with their time working at the hospital in years (r = - 0.136; p = 0.036). Midwives trained in CAT considered that the following therapies were useful or very useful for pain relief during labor and delivery: relaxation techniques (64.3%), hydrotherapy (84.8%) and the application of compresses to the perineum (75.9%). The availability of resources for providing CAT during normal birth care varied widely from center to center. Conclusions: Age may influence attitudes towards training. It is important to increase the number of midwives trained in CAM for pain relief during childbirth, in order to promote the use of CAT and ensure efficiency and safety. CAT resources at accredited hospitals providing normal childbirth care should also be standardized.

Panorama dels llibres infantils i juvenils dels anys 2010 i 2011

L"article presenta les tendències observades en la producció de llibres infantils catalans dels anys 2010 i 2011. Essencialment, la situació no ha canviat en relació amb els darrers anys i manté, a grans trets, unes característiques similars (publicacions relacionades amb dates assenyalades, predomini de la narrativa, seguiment dels gèneres de moda), tot i que s"apunten algunes variants relacionades amb la necessitat d"ampliar mercat, com ara l"augment de col·leccions per a petits lectors, la presència de títols que aposten pel missatge educatiu, l"edició de llibres acompanyats de CD i de llibres pop-up concebuts i editats aquí. L"article també repassa breument les aportacions més rellevants dels autors i dels premis publicats en aquest període.

Ownership, Incentives and Hospitals

This article analyzes hospital privatization by comparing costs and quality between different ownership forms. We put the attention on the distinction between public hospitals and private hospitals with public funding. Using information about Spanish hospitals, we have found that private hospitals provide services at a lower cost at expenses of lower quality. We observe that property rights theory is fulfilled at least for the Spanish hospital market. The way that Heath Authorities finance publicly funded hospitals may be responsible for the differences in incentives between public and private centers. We argue that the trade-off between costs and quality could be minimized by designing financing contracts with fixed and variable components.

La representació de la figura humana com a eina d'estudi dels dibuixos infantils

Aquest treball pretén apropar-nos al dibuix infantil a través d’una investigació que s’ha dut a terme amb infants d’edats compreses entre els 3 i 5 anys. Podrem observar si actualment, en el nostre context social, els infants segueixen unes etapes evolutives del dibuix i si l’estimulació de l’entorn influeix per accelerar-ne el procés. El tipus de recerca que s’ha dut a terme és principalment de caire qualitatiu. També hi ha, però, una part de dades quantitatives. Els resultat obtinguts s’han posat en relació amb el marc teòric presentat en la investigació i se n’han pogut extreure unes conclusions.

Edició de llibres infantils i juvenils: la poesia

Una visió panoràmica de l'edició de llibres infantils i juvenils de poesia en llengua catalana durant el darrer bienni en permet fer una valoració globalment esperançadora. Quant als creadors, s'hi han incorporat noves veus, algunes de les quals han contribuït a la renovació temàtica i a la qualitat tant del llenguatge literari com del visual, han augmentat els llibres on flueix la paraula sense encarcaraments ni rimes forçades i s'han publicat obres en què la interrelació íntima aconseguida entre paraula i imatge va més enllà de la funció ornamental de bona part d'il·lustracions dels llibres de poesia. En l'àmbit editorial, els fenòmens més interessants del bienni són l'aparició de tres col·leccions de poesia i l'augment d'edicions en la nostra llengua i de versions de poesia d'altres cultures, algunes en edicions molt acurades. Pel que fa a la difusió i divulgació, s'han atorgat premis a obres de creació i a estudis sobre el gènere i s'han organitzat diverses exposicions.

Impact of maternity care policy in Catalonia: a retrospective cross-sectional study of service delivery in public and private hospitals

Background: As a result of the growing number of interventions that are now performed in the context of maternity care, health authorities have begun to examine the possible repercussions for service provision and for maternal and neonatal health. In Spain the Strategy Paper on Normal Childbirth was published in 2008, and since then the authorities in Catalonia have sought to implement its recommendations. This paper reviews the current provision of maternity care in Catalonia. Methods: This was a descriptive study. Hospitals were grouped according to their source of funding (public or private) and were stratified (across four strata) on the basis of the annual number of births recorded within their respective maternity service. Data regarding the distribution of obstetric professionals were taken from an official government survey of hospitals published in 2010. The data on obstetric interventions (caesarean, use of forceps, vacuum or non-specified instruments) performed in 2007, 2010 and 2012 were obtained by consulting discharge records of 44 public and 20 private hospitals, which together provide care in 98% of all births in Catalonia. Proportions and confidence intervals were calculated for each intervention performed in all full-term (3742 weeks) singleton births. Results: Analysis of staff profiles according to the stratification of hospitals showed that almost all the hospitals had more obstetricians than midwives among their maternity care staff. Public hospitals performed fewer caesareans [range between 19.20% (CI 18.84-19.55) and 28.14% (CI 27.73-28.54)] than did private hospitals [range between 32.21% (CI 31.78-32.63) and 39.43% (CI 38.98-39.87)]. The use of forceps has decreased in public hospitals. The use of a vacuum extractor has increased and is more common in private hospitals. Conclusions: Caesarean section is the most common obstetric intervention performed during full-term singleton births in Catalonia. The observed trend is stable in the group of public hospitals, but shows signs of a rise among private institutions. The number of caesareans performed in accredited public hospitals covers a limited range with a stable trend. Among public hospitals the highest rate of caesareans is found in non-accredited hospitals with a lower annual number of births.

Impact of maternity care policy in Catalonia: a retrospective cross-sectional study of service delivery in public and private hospitals

Background: As a result of the growing number of interventions that are now performed in the context of maternity care, health authorities have begun to examine the possible repercussions for service provision and for maternal and neonatal health. In Spain the Strategy Paper on Normal Childbirth was published in 2008, and since then the authorities in Catalonia have sought to implement its recommendations. This paper reviews the current provision of maternity care in Catalonia. Methods: This was a descriptive study. Hospitals were grouped according to their source of funding (public or private) and were stratified (across four strata) on the basis of the annual number of births recorded within their respective maternity service. Data regarding the distribution of obstetric professionals were taken from an official government survey of hospitals published in 2010. The data on obstetric interventions (caesarean, use of forceps, vacuum or non-specified instruments) performed in 2007, 2010 and 2012 were obtained by consulting discharge records of 44 public and 20 private hospitals, which together provide care in 98% of all births in Catalonia. Proportions and confidence intervals were calculated for each intervention performed in all full-term (3742 weeks) singleton births. Results: Analysis of staff profiles according to the stratification of hospitals showed that almost all the hospitals had more obstetricians than midwives among their maternity care staff. Public hospitals performed fewer caesareans [range between 19.20% (CI 18.84-19.55) and 28.14% (CI 27.73-28.54)] than did private hospitals [range between 32.21% (CI 31.78-32.63) and 39.43% (CI 38.98-39.87)]. The use of forceps has decreased in public hospitals. The use of a vacuum extractor has increased and is more common in private hospitals. Conclusions: Caesarean section is the most common obstetric intervention performed during full-term singleton births in Catalonia. The observed trend is stable in the group of public hospitals, but shows signs of a rise among private institutions. The number of caesareans performed in accredited public hospitals covers a limited range with a stable trend. Among public hospitals the highest rate of caesareans is found in non-accredited hospitals with a lower annual number of births.

Una reflexió historiogràfica sobre l'hospital com a espai de medicalització

El treball analitza la historiografia existent sobre les institucions hospitalàries com a espai de medicalització des de la segona meitat del s. XX. La finalitat és estudiar de quina manera diverses tendències historiogràfiques han percebut l’hospital com a espai de creació i difusió de coneixement científic. S'ha atorgat particular interès a les visions sobre el seu rol en la transformació de la medicina occidental i també als factors aliens a la medicina que, segons alguns historiadors, han, valgui la paradoxa, contribuït a transformar l’hospital en una institució mèdica.

MedIGS, un sistema segur basat en agents per al descobriment i obtenció de dades mèdiques distribuïdes: estudi i desenvolupament

En aquest projecte es desenvolupa en totes les seves fases(estudi, anàlisi, disseny, implementació i proves) l'aplicació MedIGS. MedIGS és una aplicació destinada a satisfer algunes de les necesitats actuals del sistema sanitari, la compartició d’informació i la màxima coordinació possible, utilitzant una tecnologia novedosa: els agents, i més concretament, els agents mòbils. Gràcies a aquesta tecnologia aconseguirem una integració segura de dades mèdiques distribuïdes. Està previst fer una prova pilot a Portugal, a partir dels resultats d’aquest projecte.

Impacte medioambiental de l'ús de la radioactivitat en l'àmbit hospitalari: un treball de camp

Treball de recerca realitzat per un alumne d’ensenyament secundari i guardonat amb un Premi CIRIT per fomentar l'esperit científic del Jovent l’any 2008. Aquest treball ve motivat per l’interès en conèixer si activitats comunes en el nostre entorn, com la pròpia activitat hospitalària, podrien ser una font de contaminació radioactiva. En una primera part teòrica es recullen els conceptes més importants i es respon a preguntes bàsiques sobre la radioactivitat i la seva naturalesa, les seves aplicacions i les dificultats i riscos que suposa la seva manipulació. En la segona part s'aborda experimentalment, amb els recursos de que s’ha disposat, la mesura de la radioactivitat en l'entorn d'una de les majors instal•lacions hospitalàries de Barcelona, l'Hospital Clínic i Provincial de Barcelona. L'objectiu és esbrinar si a causa de la utilització de radioactivitat en medicina els nivells en la via urbana són més elevats.