Group preference structures in AHP–group decision making

This paper presents a procedure that allows us to determine the preference structures(PS) associated to each of the different groups of actors that can be identified in a groupdecision making problem with a large number of individuals. To that end, it makesuse of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) (Saaty, 1980) as the technique to solvediscrete multicriteria decision making problems. This technique permits the resolutionof multicriteria, multienvironment and multiactor problems in which subjective aspectsand uncertainty have been incorporated into the model, constructing ratio scales correspondingto the priorities relative to the elements being compared, normalised in adistributive manner (wi = 1). On the basis of the individuals’ priorities we identifydifferent clusters for the decision makers and, for each of these, the associated preferencestructure using, to that end, tools analogous to those of Multidimensional Scaling.The resulting PS will be employed to extract knowledge for the subsequent negotiationprocesses and, should it be necessary, to determine the relative importance of thealternatives being compared using anyone of the existing procedures

Visual impairment and multimorbidity in a representative sample of the Spanish population

BACKGROUND: In the context of population aging, visual impairment has emerged as a growing concern in public health. However, there is a need for further research into the relationship between visual impairment and chronic medical conditions in the elderly. The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between visual impairment and three main types of co-morbidity: chronic physical conditions (both at an independent and additive level), mental health and cognitive functioning. METHODS: Data were collected from the COURAGE in Europe project, a cross-sectional study. A total of 4,583 participants from Spain were included. Diagnosis of chronic medical conditions included self-reported medical diagnosis and symptomatic algorithms. Depression and anxiety were assessed using CIDI algorithms. Visual assessment included objective distance/near visual acuity and subjective visual performance. Descriptive analyses included the whole sample (n = 4,583). Statistical analyses included participants aged over 50 years (n = 3,625; mean age = 66.45 years) since they have a significant prevalence of chronic conditions and visual impairment. Crude and adjusted binary logistic regressions were performed to identify independent associations between visual impairment and chronic medical conditions, physical multimorbidity and mental conditions. Covariates included age, gender, marital status, education level, employment status and urbanicity. RESULTS: The number of chronic physical conditions was found to be associated with poorer results in both distance and near visual acuity [OR 1.75 (CI 1.38-2.23); OR 1.69 (CI 1.27-2.24)]. At an independent level, arthritis, stroke and diabetes were associated with poorer distance visual acuity results after adjusting for covariates [OR 1.79 (CI 1.46-2.21); OR 1.59 (CI 1.05-2.42); OR 1.27 (1.01-1.60)]. Only stroke was associated with near visual impairment [OR 3.01 (CI 1.86-4.87)]. With regard to mental health, poor subjective visual acuity was associated with depression [OR 1.61 (CI 1.14-2.27); OR 1.48 (CI 1.03-2.13)]. Both objective and subjective poor distance and near visual acuity were associated with worse cognitive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Arthritis, stroke and the co-occurrence of various chronic physical diseases are associated with higher prevalence of visual impairment. Visual impairment is associated with higher prevalence of depression and poorer cognitive function results. There is a need to implement patient-centered care involving special visual assessment in these cases.

Condiciones de trabajo psicosociales y desgaste psíquico en trabajadores de diversos sectores empresariales de centro-oriente, suroccidente y región Caribe en Colombia

Objetivo: Determinar la percepción de trabajadores de distintos sectores empresariales de Colombia sobre los factores psicosociales presentes en su entorno laboral y la relación entre los factores psicosociales nocivos y los síntomas subjetivos y alteraciones de la salud. Materiales y métodos: Estudio no experimental, transversal y cuantitativo. Participaron 370 trabajadores, de diferentes sectores empresariales de Colombia (Centro-Oriente, Suroccidente y región Caribe). Instrumento: batería para el estudio de las condiciones de trabajo de carácter psicosocial (CTCPS-MAC), validada para población iberoamericana, permite evaluar cuatro dimensiones: Contexto de trabajo, Contenido de trabajo, Factores individuales y Desgaste psíquico e incluye catorce factores psicosociales. Los datos se analizaron con IBM SPSS statistics 21. Se realizó análisis bivariado y regresión logística multivariante de factores psicosociales nocivos y desgaste psíquico. Resultados: Los factores formación, baja médica, contexto de trabajo, contenido de trabajo y factores individuales están asociados en este estudio con desgaste psíquico. El contexto de trabajo es la variable que infiere mayor riesgo (p=0.000; Exp (B)= 5.355) para provocar desgaste psíquico, seguida de la formación técnica o superior y del contenido del trabajo. Conclusiones: Si bien aquellos trabajadores cuya percepción nociva del contexto de trabajo (interrelación trabajo-vida familiar/personal, cultura de la organización, gestión de la empresa, etc.), del contenido de trabajo (concepción tareas, carga y ritmo de trabajo, etc.) y los que tienen formación técnica o superior tienen mayor probabilidad de padecer desgaste psíquico, se observan aspectos positivos de las condiciones de trabajo psicosocial y su influencia en los trabajadores y en las organizaciones.