Ethical dimension of circle Integrative Community Therapy on qualitative research

This study discusses ethical issues in research involving human beings and seeks to understand the relationship between qualitative research and the ethical care guidelines for Integrative Community Therapy (ICT) circles based on Resolution 466/12 of the National Health Council of the Ministry of Health of Brazil. This is documentary research, which analyzed Resolution 466/12 and ICT circles seeking to make a connection between the ethical guidelines contained in both. The analysis of the corpus was directed toward the construction of the following results: the person's perception, cultural diversity and community. It also brings in consideration of the influence of the ethical dimension of the ICT circles on qualitative research. We conclude that ICT circles are innovative in the sense of the diversity of participants and respect for cultural and social differences. Thus, ICT circles promote acquisition of quality information for social research as well as compliance with the ethical guidelines outlined in Resolution No. 466/12.

How effective is dog culling in controlling zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis? a critical evaluation of the science, politics and ethics behind this public health policy

INTRODUCTION: Zoonotic kala-azar, a lethal disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania is considered out of control in parts of the world, particularly in Brazil, where transmission has spread to cities throughout most of the territory and mortality presents an increasing trend. Although a highly debatable measure, the Brazilian government regularly culls seropositive dogs to control the disease. Since control is failing, critical analysis concerning the actions focused on the canine reservoir was conducted. METHODS: In a review of the literature, a historical perspective focusing mainly on comparisons between the successful Chinese and Soviet strategies and the Brazilian approach is presented. In addition, analyses of the principal studies regarding the role of dogs as risk factors to humans and of the main intervention studies regarding the efficacy of the dog killing strategy were undertaken. Brazilian political reaction to a recently published systematic review that concluded that the dog culling program lacked efficiency and its effect on public policy were also reviewed. RESULTS: No firm evidence of the risk conferred by the presence of dogs to humans was verified; on the contrary, a lack of scientific support for the policy of killing dogs was confirmed. A bias for distorting scientific data towards maintaining the policy of culling animals was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Since there is no evidence that dog culling diminishes visceral leishmaniasis transmission, it should be abandoned as a control measure. Ethical considerations have been raised regarding distorting scientific results and the killing of animals despite minimal or absent scientific evidence

Ethical dilemmas in scientific publication: pitfalls and solutions for editors

Editors of scientific journals need to be conversant with the mechanisms by which scientific misconduct is amplified by publication practices. This paper provides definitions, ways to document the extent of the problem, and examples of editorial attempts to counter fraud. Fabrication, falsification, duplication, ghost authorship, gift authorship, lack of ethics approval, non-disclosure, 'salami' publication, conflicts of interest, auto-citation, duplicate submission, duplicate publications, and plagiarism are common problems. Editorial misconduct includes failure to observe due process, undue delay in reaching decisions and communicating these to authors, inappropriate review procedures, and confounding a journal's content with its advertising or promotional potential. Editors also can be admonished by their peers for failure to investigate suspected misconduct, failure to retract when indicated, and failure to abide voluntarily by the six main sources of relevant international guidelines on research, its reporting and editorial practice. Editors are in a good position to promulgate reasonable standards of practice, and can start by using consensus guidelines on publication ethics to state explicitly how their journals function. Reviewers, editors, authors and readers all then have a better chance to understand, and abide by, the rules of publishing.

Do Brazilian scientific journals promote the adherence of Chagas disease researchers to internacional ethical principals?

The ethical aspects of the Brazilian publications about human Chagas disease (CD) developed between 1996 and 2010 and the policy adopted by Brazilian medical journals were analyzed. Articles were selected on the SciELO Brazil data basis, and the evaluation of ethical aspects was based on the normative contents about ethics in research involving human experimentation according to the Brazilian resolution of the National Health Council no. 196/1996. The editorial policies of the section "Instructions to authors" were analyzed. In the period of 1996-2012, 58.9% of articles involving human Chagas disease did not refer to the fulfillment of the ethical aspects concerning research with human beings. In 80% of the journals, the requirements and confirmation of the information about ethical aspects in the studies of human CD were not observed. Although a failure in this type of service is still observed, awareness has been raised in federal agencies, educational institutions/research and publishing groups to standardize the procedures and ethical requirements for the Brazilian journals, reinforcing the fulfillment of the ethical parameters, according to the resolution of NHC no. 196/1996.

Ethical aspects in the management of the terminally ill patient in the pediatric intensive care unit

OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of management plans and decision-making processes for terminal care patients in pediatric intensive care units. METHODOLOGY: Evidence-based medicine was done by a systematic review using an electronic data base (LILACS, 1982 through 2000) and (MEDLINE, 1966 through 2000). The key words used are listed and age limits (0 to 18 years) were used. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty two articles were found and after selection according to the exclusion/inclusion criteria and objectives 17 relevant papers were identified. The most common decisions found were do-not-resuscitation orders and withdrawal or withholding life support care. The justifications for these were "imminent death" and "unsatisfatory quality of life". CONCLUSION: Care management was based on ethical principles aiming at improving benefits, avoiding harm, and when possible, respecting the autonomy of the terminally ill patient.

Fractal Dimension in Quantifying Experimental-Pulmonary-Hypertension-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction in Rats

Abstract Background: Right-sided heart failure has high morbidity and mortality, and may be caused by pulmonary arterial hypertension. Fractal dimension is a differentiated and innovative method used in histological evaluations that allows the characterization of irregular and complex structures and the quantification of structural tissue changes. Objective: To assess the use of fractal dimension in cardiomyocytes of rats with monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension, in addition to providing histological and functional analysis. Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into 2 groups: control (C; n = 8) and monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (M; n = 8). Five weeks after pulmonary arterial hypertension induction with monocrotaline, echocardiography was performed and the animals were euthanized. The heart was dissected, the ventricles weighed to assess anatomical parameters, and histological slides were prepared and stained with hematoxylin/eosin for fractal dimension analysis, performed using box-counting method. Data normality was tested (Shapiro-Wilk test), and the groups were compared with non-paired Student t test or Mann Whitney test (p < 0.05). Results: Higher fractal dimension values were observed in group M as compared to group C (1.39 ± 0.05 vs. 1.37 ± 0.04; p < 0.05). Echocardiography showed lower pulmonary artery flow velocity, pulmonary acceleration time and ejection time values in group M, suggesting function worsening in those animals. Conclusion: The changes observed confirm pulmonary-arterial-hypertension-induced cardiac dysfunction, and point to fractal dimension as an effective method to evaluate cardiac morphological changes induced by ventricular dysfunction.

Political-ethical skill development in nursing undergraduates

This research aimed to identify political-ethical skills developed in a training process compatible with the expected profile set by the National Curriculum Guidelines for the Undergraduate Nursing Degree. A case study was conducted with units represented by 32 former students from a particular religious teaching institution who already were in the job market. The content of the interviews was analyzed using the thematic analysis technique, which resulted in the following categories: "Political-ethical skills in the formative process" and "Political-ethical skills as a product of the educational process." From the former students’ perspective, these categories reinforced the social role of the nurse and the need for students to be reflective, understanding and participative in the transformation of society.

Instrumental and ethical aspects of experimental research with animal models

Experimental animal models offer possibilities of physiology knowledge, pathogenesis of disease and action of drugs that are directly related to quality nursing care. This integrative review describes the current state of the instrumental and ethical aspects of experimental research with animal models, including the main recommendations of ethics committees that focus on animal welfare and raises questions about the impact of their findings in nursing care. Data show that, in Brazil, the progress in ethics for the use of animals for scientific purposes was consolidated with Law No. 11.794/2008 establishing ethical procedures, attending health, genetic and experimental parameters. The application of ethics in handling of animals for scientific and educational purposes and obtaining consistent and quality data brings unquestionable contributions to the nurse, as they offer subsidies to relate pathophysiological mechanisms and the clinical aspect on the patient.

The Construction Of Ethical Competence In The Perception Of Primary Care Nurses


The study intended to understand the perception of nurses of Primary Care Services about the construction of ethical competence on their formation and practices. This is a qualitative study, with an interpretative phenomenological approach and interviews with ten nurses of the community health services of Porto Alegre, RS. The results showed that the interviewed professionals had already experienced situations with ethical conflicts and knew what ethical competence means. The central themes point out three fundamental issues in the construction of the ethical competence: personal values, education and practice. Taking into account that ethical competence is in permanent construction, the study shows the importance to promote organizational and educational activities in a transversal manner, as a tool to cope the moral stress and contribute in improving the quality of care in the primary health attention.


Ethical abuses in the authorship of scientific papers

Problems regarding the order of authorship of scientific papers have become more frequent and more abusive. These problems may have heightened due to the ever increasing pressure to "publish or perish" in the academic world, given that the publication of scientific articles has become the benchmark of success in a field with few job opportunities. This article reviews the abuses in the authorship of scientific papers. Different examples are given of the most common problems and recommendations are provided for authors and journal editors.

Information literacy - historical and conceptual bases: constructing meanings

Recent years have witnessed the increasing interest in studies focused on information literacy, which is reflected mainly in the number of publications on the subject and goes beyond the fields of Librarianship and Information Science. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to offer an outlook, historical and conceptual, of international researches on information literacy, trying to show some of the different ramifications which the discussion on the subject has exhibited in past few years in countries where its process of legitimation is already well established, in order to illuminate possible areas of research and action for the librarian professional. This research indicates that if the initial studies on this topic tended to be devoted to conceptualize it, discussing its relevance and determine the skills and knowledge related to information literacy, in the last decade can be noticed a proliferation of researches aimed at describing initiatives or proposing models in areas beyond the usual field such as Medical Sciences, Law, Politics or Computers, among others. The first results of this research refer to a philosophical and educational perspective of information literacy, which suggests the need for deeper understanding and characterization of information literacy in four dimensions: technical, aesthetic, ethical and political, serving both to competence as to information.