Qualitative methodogy: revealing a new path for research in dentistry

Currently, it is easy to find health professionals who not only attach importance to qualitative methods, but also recognize their help to better understand their patients' lives. However, its use in dentistry is still incipient, either due to ignorance or because of technical / operational difficulties in identifying possibilities for their use in research. Thus, the purpose of this study was to review the literature on the characteristics and peculiarities of the qualitative methodology, demonstrating their techniques of collecting, recording and analyzing data. For this, we performed a descriptive literature, from a survey in the "LILACS", "BBO" and "PUBMED" databases, by keywords related to the theme, selecting only the papers that mentioned the "importance" of qualitative research, the "characteristics and fundamentals," and the "techniques of collecting, recording and data analysis" involving this methodology. It was found that all studies have highlighted the importance of qualitative research to the construction of new knowledge that cannot be achieved by quantitative data. We found many different techniques to gather, record and analyze qualitative data applied to the dentistry field. It was concluded that qualitative research represents a new path to be followed by dentistry, so that we are able to plan actions in ethical and humane public health dentistry, bringing better results to the population, because of the depth of knowledge that your date can.

Programa de educação e prevenção em saúde bucal nas escolas: análise crítica de publicações nacionais

Objective: To conduct a survey on national databases about Oral Health Program (OHP) publications in schools, in the last eleven years. Material and Methods: A survey was conducted in two main bases of national publications in the field of dentistry: Bireme and Scielo. To start the research, it was used the articles theme/subject. In the search, it was used the keywords 'oral health education', 'programs and oral health and dentistry', 'programs and oral health and education'. Results: A total of 20 publications were selected. From these, seven (35%) had the aim to evaluate educational methods used in OHP, 12 (60%) evaluated the effectiveness of the OHP itself developed in the school and one (5%) reported the experience of OHP. Only two publications did not get positive results and the other eighteen obtained advantageous results. Conclusion: In the national scientific literature, there are few publications about the subject in question, suggesting that the successful experiences about OHP in schools must be published to be replicated in other parts of Brazil.

Protocolos de saúde geral e bucal de enfermagem em radioterapia de câncer de cabeça e pescoço: uma revisão comentada

O câncer é um problema de saúde pública mundial, com destaque para a incidência do câncer de cabeça e pescoço, em função da biologia das lesões, custo do tratamento, acompanhamento e ônus social. Seus tratamentos mais utilizados como a cirurgia e radioterapia, apresentam sérios efeitos colaterais de curto e longo prazo, cujo é são complexo. As principais orientações e cuidados no tratamento do câncer de cabeça e pescoço foram obtidos através de revisão de literatura sistemática em bases de dados públicas. O objetivo desta revisão de literatura foi mostrar os principais cuidados na prevenção e tratamento das sequelas da radioterapia desse tipo de câncer. Nesse particular, observa-se a necessidade de um protocolo de enfermagem-odontologia, visto a complexidade e a falta de direcionamento das normas do Sistema Único de Saúde, além da responsabilidade dos cuidados desses pacientes, que ficam a cargo da equipe de saúde, atendendo as suas reais necessidades, tanto pessoais, psicológicas e fisiológicas.

Helicobacter pylori em boca: epidemiologia e associação com doenças bucais

The association of Helicobacter pylori with different gastric diseases has been continuously discussed in the literature, whereas the last 20 years a large body of publications was intended to characterize the ecological niches and habitats of this pathogen being the mouth a possible habitat for that rod. The present study aimed to discuss the occurrence of this organism as part of the supplemental or transient microbiota of the mouth. Thus, an extensive review of literature covering the period 1990-2014 was carried out with different databases, yielding 5024 articles discussing transmission and occurrence of H. pylori, in English or Portuguese. Articles were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and data were tabulated and analyzed. Despite the significant heterogeneity of the literature, it was found this microaerophilic has a worldwide distribution, even in the mouth, which behaves as a reservoir for gastric reinfection. The role of oral hygiene and periodontal disease in the distribution of this microorganism remains unclear, but most studies support the hypothesis that oral biofilms and inflammation of periodontium may facilitate the installation of this pathogen in the mouth. Studies suggest that this microorganism could collaborate as a predisposing factor for oral cancer.

Associação entre a doença periodontal e doenças sistêmicas crônicas: revisão de literatura

Periodontal disease has been increasingly associated as a supporting factor, and even a precursor to some systemic diseases. Just aim of this paper was to analyze by reviewing the literature, the possible mechanisms involved in the etiopathogenesis of periodontal disease that are common to the current systemic diseases such as obesity, atherosclerosis, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The articles were analyzed with in the publication period of the years 2006 to 2011 and were surveyed in the databases PubMed, LILACS and SciELO. Of a total of 907 articles found by searching the indices and their associations, were selected by inclusion criteria 93 articles. For the preparation of this literature review, only 24 articles were selected because they are based on inflammatory mechanisms, metabolic and infectious, where the considerations for the strongest associations in the literature. This literature review reinforces the association of periodontal disease with systemic diseases analyzed due to presence of inflammatory and immunological mechanisms and similar synergism betwen the two diseases, but some hypotheses still need further clarification. The professional should stick to recent discoveries associations to promote periodontal treatment in preventing the development of systemic diseases, as well as in maintaining the systemic health of patients already suffering from chronic systemic diseases.

Fatores envolvidos no comportamento em higiene bucal e hábitos alimentares de crianças: revisão de literatura

The family is primarily responsible for shaping behavior in oral hygiene and nutrition of children, and cultural and psychosocial factors can influence this process. Thus, we carried out this study with the aim of presenting evidence from the literature on the subject. We reviewed the databases Bireme, Pubmed and Medline without restriction of year of publication. Used as descriptors "education," "care," "behavior," "oral health" and "food habits". We emphasize the responsibility of the family practices, values and beliefs of oral health and nutrition as well as the importance of shared care between family and professionals.

Circunferência da cintura ou abdominal? uma revisão crítica dos referenciais metodológicos

Embora haja consenso sobre a validade e facilidade do uso da antropometria na classificação da obesidade abdominal, ainda não existe consenso sobre a nomenclatura da medida e os sítios anatômicos para sua obtenção. Desta forma, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar de forma crítica o uso da circunferência da cintura ou abdominal em adultos para aferição da obesidade abdominal. Foi realizada uma revisão sistemática a partir de busca em bases de dados indexadas MEDLINE (PubMed) e Scientific Eletronic Library Online (SciELO). Foram revisados artigos publicados no período compreendido entre 2003 e 2009. Quanto à nomenclatura, apesar dos National Institutes Health tratarem circunferência da cintura e abdominal como sinônimos, os pesquisadores internacionais, tem preferido o uso do termo circunferência da cintura. Quanto ao sítio anatômico para a medida, falta ainda consenso entre os pesquisadores e orientação da International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Considerando que os atuais pontos de corte para as populações de origem européia foram elaborados a partir dos sítios anatômicos estabelecidos pela OMS 1989, torna-se razoável a adoção desta referência. Sobre os pontos de corte, a proposta da IDF representa resultado de um consenso internacional e avalizado pela Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia.

Resultados da atenção farmacêutica no Brasil: uma revisão

The practice of pharmaceutical care (PC) is recent in Brazil and little is known about its impact on the health system or patients. The aim of this review was thus to identify the clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes achieved by the practice of PC in Brazil. In order to assess those outcomes, data published in studies from 1997 to 2011 were collected from Lilacs and MEDLINE databases, using the technique of content analysis. Original studies on PC that included pharmacotherapeutic follow-up were considered eligible for this descriptive review. A total of 306 articles were identified through the chosen descriptors. Of those, ten studies were eligible for this review and only two did not report significant results. The others reported increased adherence to pharmacotherapy, resolution of pharmacotherapeutic issues and control of clinical parameters of diseases (such as maintenance or reduction of blood pressure, reduction in HIV viral load and increase in lymphocyte count), promoting improvements in the general state of health and behavioral changes. However, economic impact was not assessed in any article analyzed, nor was a direct measurement of life quality performed. Although there are few studies on the outcomes of pharmaceutical care services in Brazil, it is demonstrated in this review that positive results were obtained when the pharmacist acted as a provider of optimized pharmacotherapy. This may be considered a result of the actions that followed the Brazilian Pharmaceutical Care Consensus of 2002, such as the restructuring of the curricular basis of pharmacy courses. From this point on, Brazilian researchers and pharmacists should think of a strategy to expand the offer of pharmaceutical care beyond academia and reach people in general who need this type of health care.

Avaliações farmacoeconômicas em vigilância de medicamentos

The study aimed to identify pharmacoeconomic studies in pharmacovigilance and to observe the economic outcomes in post-marketing surveillance. Therefore, a bibliographic survey was performed in databases Lilacs, PubMed/ Bireme. The search strategy was done by using scientific health descriptors [ "adverse drug reaction reporting systems " OR " medication errors " OR "product surveillance, postmarketing" OR " sentinel surveillance" ] AND [ " cost-benefit analysis" OR "cost efficiency analysis " OR " costs and cost analysis " OR " hospital costs " OR " cost-effectiveness " OR " cost-effectiveness evaluation " OR " drug costs " ]. Manuscripts published in the last 10 years were selected. We chose 13 articles, of which 12 corresponded to cost-benefit analysis and only one to cost-effectiveness assessment. In only one study there was no economy, all the other ones generated savings, ranging from 13.7 to 30% in spending valued service. Surveillance actions were: continuing education; active search through tracking devices and / or implementation of round; teamwork and multidisciplinary deployment; computerized security services management, enabling traceability of information and alerts. The results of the proposed actions have led to the prevention of adverse drug reactions, to decline of risks to the patient, to the reduction of inappropriate prescriptions, as well as the length of hospital stay spending valued service. Surveillance actions were: continuing education; active search through tracking devices and / or implementation of round; teamwork and multidisciplinary deployment; computerized security services management, enabling traceability of information and alerts. The results of the proposed actions have led to the prevention of adverse drug reactions, to decline of risks to the patient, to the reduction of inappropriate prescriptions, as well as the length of hospital stay

Causes for the underreporting of adverse drug events by health professionals: a systematic review

Objective: Identifying the main causes for underreporting of Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) by health professionals. Method: A systematic review carried out in the following databases: LILACS, PAHO, SciELO, EMBASE and PubMed in the period between 1992 and 2012. Descriptors were used in the search for articles, and the identified causes of underreporting were analyzed according to the classification of Inman. Results: In total, were identified 149 articles, among which 29 were selected. Most studies were carried out in hospitals (24/29) for physicians (22/29), and pharmacists (10/29). The main causes related to underreporting were ignorance (24/29), insecurity (24/29) and indifference (23/29). Conclusion: The data show the eighth sin in underreporting, which is the lack of training in pharmacovigilance. Therefore, continuing education can increase adherence of professionals to the service and improve knowledge and communication of risks due to drug use.

Transtorno dismórfico corporal: uma revisão de literatura

This study aimed to review articles about BDD published from 1980 to 2008, indexed in Lilacs, Francis, Scielo, Psychinfo and Ovid's databases. The main categories of analysis in the study were bibliography, method, results and their specifications. Among the results it is emphasized the considerable increase of publications from 1996 on and the low frequency of national publications on this topic. The articles consulted were mostly of characterization, their designs were more frequent as the non-experimental and experimental and used the verbal report as the main source of data collection. The results of the investigated studies focus mainly the typical behaviors and characteristics of the population diagnosed with BDD. This paper discusses the articles consulted, their contributions to the area and knowledge gaps.

Análise de formas planas em imagens digitais

Given the widespread use of computers, the visual pattern recognition task has been automated in order to address the huge amount of available digital images. Many applications use image processing techniques as well as feature extraction and visual pattern recognition algorithms in order to identify people, to make the disease diagnosis process easier, to classify objects, etc. based on digital images. Among the features that can be extracted and analyzed from images is the shape of objects or regions. In some cases, shape is the unique feature that can be extracted with a relatively high accuracy from the image. In this work we present some of most important shape analysis methods and compare their performance when applied on three well-known shape image databases. Finally, we propose the development of a new shape descriptor based on the Hough Transform.

Implementação do algoritmo de treinamento do classificador floresta de caminhos ótimos em GPU

Técnicas de reconhecimento de padrões tem como principal objetivo classificar um conjunto de amostras, sendo o processo de aprendizado a fase de maior consumo de tempo. O problema pode piorar em ferramentas de classificação interativas, o que pode ser inaceitável para grandes bases de dados. Um exemplo de classificador é o baseado em Floresta de Caminhos Ótimos [8] - OPF. Dado que muitos trabalhos tem sido orientados à implementação de algoritmos de reconhecimento de padrões em ambiente General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit - GPGPU, o presente estudo objetivou a implementação da etapa de treinamento do classificador Floresta de Caminhos Ótimos em CUDA, visando aumentar a sua eficiência. A otimização do classificador em CUDA demonstrou uma fase de treinamento mais rápida que a versão original.

Análise documental da produção acadêmica sobre o ensino de evolução (1990-2010): caracterizações e proposições

The quantitative and qualitative increasing of researches in Science teaching imposes the periodical mapping need of scientific production about the subject, with a view to identify its own characteristics and tendencies. In this context, researches such as “State of art”, given his executrix character, constitute in modality inquiring that allow us to outline historical scenes for a given area (or subarea) of knowledge. In this light, this work aims to outline the panorama of Brazilian academic production, represented by dissertations and thesis, in evolution teaching between 1990- 2010. The documents susceptible of analysis were raised in three online data basis and its selection happened from the reading of titles, abstracts and key-words with views to identify the dissertations and thesis that truly approached the Evolution Teaching. The found results evidence the predominance of dissertations related to the number of thesis and the concentration of academic production in Evolution Teaching in Brazil south-east region, especially in São Paulo state. In researches trends we verified the prevalence of investigations related to the previous conceptions of students and professors (in all teaching levels) and to teacher training.

Treinamento ambiental:revisão de literatura e sugestões de pesquisa

This article aims to list the studies on environmental training published in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, to emphasize the publications most relevant according to the number of citations in other research, list the most prominent authors regarding the topic, the contexts studied and the researcher’s countries of origin. The concepts of environmental management and environmental training were reviewed. The systematic literature review is presented as the methodology, which has as its results the identification of the most influential papers studied in the area, the countries of origin of researchers and the relation between context and origin of the researcher, concluding that Brazil stands out in the study of the theme. That there is a small number of researchers studying different contexts in their country of origin and that partnership between researchers from different countries are required for studies in the area. The study presents as a limitation the still restricted access to some journals presenting articles on the topic, making it impossible to analyze them. It contributes with researchers and those responsible for human resource managers in organizations because it shows the most relevant studies of the area in a compiled form.