Experience of family members as a result of children's hospitalization at the Intensive Care Unit

Objective. To describe the experience of family members as a result of children’s hospitalization at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Methodology. Descriptive and cross-sectional study. A structured interview was held with 20 relatives of patients hospitalized at two clinics of the Botucatu Medical School at Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”. Information was collected between July and September 2010. Results. The main characteristics of the participating relatives were: 80% mothers of the children; 70% low education level and 70% married. Sixty percent of the children were hospitalized at the ICU for the first time. Eighty percent of the interviewees believe that the children’s behavior changes inside the unit and 85% consider that visiting hours are sufficient. The predominant negative feelings are fear (50%) and insecurity (20%), while the predominant positive feelings are hope (50%) and the expectation of discharge (25%). The professional who most supported the relatives was the nurse (35%). Conclusion. The family members’ experience as a result of the children’s hospitalization at the ICU involves positive and negative aspects, which also affect the child’s behavior at the unit.

Association of student position in classroom and school performance

We analyzed whether the position of students in classroom is correlated with academic performance, and which factors might be involved. The sample consisted of 16 classrooms in a school year bimester, each one with around 30 students. Each student's position was registered in classroom maps and the reasons for the students' seat choice were gathered by a questionnaire. School performance and classroom absences of each student were collected directly from the teachers' register notebook. We found that better performances of students at school correlate with lower percentages of absence and choices of seating positions closer to the board. Moreover, the main reason to sit in a front position was motivation for learning. We suggest that school performance is associated to students’ position in the classroom because both are affected by the student motivation for learning. As a consequence, changing students' position in the classroom without increasing their motivation is not likely to improve school performance.