Health risk behavior pattern among students from Cartagena, Colombia: prevalence and associated variables

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and variables associated with the pattern of risky health behavior (PRHB) among adolescent students in Cartagena, Colombia. A cross-sectional study was designed to investigate PRHB in a random cluster sample of students from middle and high schools. The associations were adjusted by logistic regression. A total of 2,625 students participated in this research, with ages from 10 to 20 years, mean=13.8 years (SD=2.0), and 54.3% were women. A total of 332 students reported PRHB (12.7%, 95%CI 11.4–14.0). Age over 15 years (OR=2.19, 95%CI 1.72–2.79), not being heterosexual (OR=1.98, 95%CI 1.36-2.87), poor/mediocre academic performance (OR=1.87, 95%CI 1.47–2.38), family dysfunction (OR=1.78, 95%CI 1.40–2.28) and male gender (OR=1.58, 95%CI 1.24–2.01) were associated with PRHB. One in every eight students presented a PRHB. It is important to pay greater attention to students who are over 15 years of age, male, not heterosexual, with a poor/mediocre academic performance and a dysfunctional family.

Attitudes, knowledge, and opinions regarding mental health among undergraduate nursing students

A cross-sectional study involving 235 subjects was conducted in 2011 to compare the opinions of nursing students regarding mental illness and related care practices at two institutions in the state of Paraná, Brazil. Following approval by the ethics committee, data collection was initiated using an instrument containing questions regarding the importance of personal characteristics, knowledge of mental health, and the Opinions about Mental Illness (OMI) scale. Statistical analyses, including the Mann-Whitney test, Chi-squared test, and Spearman correlation at , were performed using SPSSv.15. The students exhibited significantly different characteristics only for Benevolence. Regarding the importance of knowledge about mental health, in comparison with students from the State University of Londrina (Universidade Estadual de Londrina – UEL), students at the State University of Maringa (Universidade Estadual de Maringá – UEM) considered psychological aspects more comprehensively than technical knowledge. We conclude that there are differences between students at these institutions in terms of knowledge and the factor Benevolence. Further studies are necessary to identify the underlying causes of such differences.

Teaching-service integration: implications and roles in experiences of Undergraduate Courses in Nursing

The study aimed at understanding the implications of the teaching-service integration to nursing education from the perspective of teachers, students and professionals in Primary Healthcare as well as identifying the roles of teachers and professionals who follow practical experiences in education. This is a case study of qualitative approach carried out in five undergraduate courses in Nursing in the state of Santa Catarina. A total of 22 teachers and 14 professionals were interviewed and five focus groups were conducted with students. Results are presented in two categories: Implications of the teaching-service integration to education in Nursing: contributing factors and intervening factors and Relationships established in the experiences: a unison speech and a dissonant practice. The contributions of the teaching-service integration are undeniable. Despite this belief, there are intervening factors that need to be on the agenda for discussion. The role of facilitator in education emerged strongly despite conflicting perceptions remain.

Influence of stress factors and socio-demographic characteristics on the sleep quality of nursing students

Objective:To analyze the influence of stress factors and socio-demographic characteristics on the sleep quality of nursing students. Method: An analytical cross-sectional and quantitative study, conducted with 151 nursing students in São Paulo between March and April of 2012. A form for socio-demographic characteristics, the Instrument to Evaluate Stress in Nursing Students and the Pittsburgh Sleep Index were applied. Results: High levels of stress was predominant for Time Management (27.8%) and Professional Training (30.5%) and low sleep quality (78.8%). The Professional Communication, Professional Training and Theoretical Activity are positively correlated to sleep quality. Work activity, academic year and time for daily studies contributed to a low quality of sleep. Conclusion: Few stress factors from the academic environment and some socio-demographic characteristics contributed to the reduction of sleep quality in students.


Psychological distress in health sciences college students and its relationship with academic engagement

Objective: To determine the prevalence of psychological distress and its relationship with academic engagement (absorption, dedication and vigor), sex and degree among students from four public universities. Method: A non-experimental,comparative correlational, quantitative investigation without intervention. Study population: 1840 nursing and physical therapy students. The data collection tool used was a questionnaire. Results: A 32.2% prevalence of psychological distress was found in the subjects; a correlation between vigor and psychological distress was found for all of the subjects and also for women. High absorption and dedication scores and low psychological distress scores predicted higher vigor scores. Conclusion: The risk of psychological distress is high, especially for women. Women seem to have a higher level of psychological distress than men. Vigor, energy and mental resilience positively influence psychological distress and can be a vehicle for better results during the learning and studying process.







The view of teachers on bullying and implications for nursing

Objective: To understand school bullying from the perspective of teachers and reflect about the possible actions of the health area when coping with it. The guidelines of the School Health Program of the Ministries of Health and Education were used to reach that purpose. Method: A qualitative study carried out with teachers of a public school in Minas Gerais. Focus groups were used to collect data and the empirical material was decoded from thematic analysis of content, resulting in an analytical category: conceptions and experiences of teachers on bullying. Results: Specific perceptions about the phenomenon and the use of ineffective intervention resources were identified. In the interpretive plan were problematized the health and nursing contributions with resizing the interventions and the continuing training process of teachers. Conclusion: The results point to the construction of intersectoral practices for coping with bullying.


Self-perceived health and clinical characteristics in young adult students from the brazilian northeast

Objective To analyze the association between socioeconomic situation, clinical characteristics referred and the family history of cardiovascular disease, with the Self-perceived health of young adults education and their implications for clinical characteristics observed. Method Analytical study conducted with 501 young adults who are students in countryside city in the Brazilian Northeast. We used binary logistic regression. Results The final model explained 83.3% of the self-perceived positive health, confirming the association of Self-perceived health with male, residence in the community, have excellent/very good lifestyle and does not have or do not know that there are cases of stroke in the family. Conclusion Health perception was often optimistic, being important to identify devices to be worked closer to their perception of their actual health condition, increasing the effectiveness of health promotion activities undertaken by professionals.

Health indicators associated with poor sleep quality among university students

Objective To associate the sleep quality of Brazilian undergraduate students with health indicators. Method A cross-sectional study was developed with a random sample of 662 undergraduate students from Fortaleza, Brazil. The demographic data, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and health data indicators (smoking, alcoholism, sedentary lifestyle, nutritional condition and serum cholesterol) were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Blood was collected at a clinical laboratory. In order to estimate the size of the associations, a Poisson Regression was used. Results For students who are daily smokers, the occurrence of poor sleep was higher than in non-smokers (p<0.001). Prevalence rate values were nevertheless close to 1. Conclusion The likelihood of poor sleep is almost the same in smokers and in alcoholics.


PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF ELDERLY RESIDENTS IN A NURSING HOME

The objective of this study was to evaluate the perception of the elderly residents of a long-stay nursing home on the process of institutionalization. We interviewed 14 subjects, five women and nine men, aged between 60 and 92 years. Data collection was conducted with a semi-structured sociodemographic interview, which presented the guiding question: “Tell me about how is your life, what do you do and how did you come to live here”. From the analysis, we found topics related to feelings of abandonment, loneliness, anger, ingratitude, living with chronic pain, satisfaction of property in the nursing home, productivity and social relationship. Given the thematic analysis, it was possible to group them into three categories such as: what the elderly feel, what the elderly perceive and what the elderly desire. As a result, we need public policies that addresses to the service provided by institutions regarding elderly expectations.

Perceptions of representatives of a committee against dengue in the health education actions, Goiás, Brazil.

This study aimed to analyze how the educational actions of prevention and control of dengue are performed in Goiás, from the perspective of representatives of the State Mobilization Committee against Dengue. It is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study, carried out in Goiânia with 43 representatives of public-private institutions, members of the State Mobilization Committee against Dengue of Goiás, in 2013. The data collection was done through questioning about the perception of health education for dengue prevention. Data were analyzed using content analysis and the WebQDA software. Three dimensions emerged from the analysis: educational aspects, management aspects, and community involvement. Respondents recognized the importance of health education for the prevention of dengue, and of the planning to strengthen the activities of the Committee.

Mental ill health in the elderly: medical students’ social representations in the United Kingdom

Objective This study aims to explore medical students’ social representations of mental ill health in older adults. Method It comprises an exploratory and qualitative investigation based on the theory of social representations. Two focus groups with pre-clinical medics (group 1, N=4; group 2, N=4) and 10 individual interviews with clinical medical students were conducted. Thematic analysis at a latent level explored meanings and differences between groups. Results Three overarching themes reflect participants’ representations of mental health problems in later life – mental ill health in old age, polarisation of care, and challenges to care. Primary health care appears as an important strategy to overcome barriers to mental health care in the community. Nevertheless, disqualifying representations, stigma and organization of services constitute the main challenges to quality mental health care in later life. Conclusion This paper highlights the need to address cultural and organizational barriers to promote quality care.

Nursing Teaching Strategies by Encouraging Students’ Questioning, Argumentation and Explanation

Nursing students need to develop competences in the field of explanation, argumentation and questioning as they are pivotal to foster a relationship with their patients and achieve a greater humanisation of care. The objective of this paper is to analyse the perception of 1st-year nursing students with regard to the humanisation of care provided to patients by encouraging them to discuss real-life episodes. The study is qualitative and content analysis used the students’ questions, explanations and argumentation as core discourses. Among other conclusions, results point towards the importance of promoting activities that encourage the different nursing students’ discourses and the ability to understand the humanisation and dehumanisation patterns arising from the real-life episodes used as case study.

Needs of psychopedagogical training for the care of children with chronic disease: perceptions of hospital nursing

OBJECTIVE To identify the psychopedagogical training needs of the pediatric nurses in the largest public hospital of the Balearic Islands, Spain. METHOD This study was developed with a quantitative and qualitative design, where 78 nurses (97.5% of the service) answered a questionnaire, and 15 participated in interviews that were analyzed via content analysis. RESULTS The quantitative results show gaps in the knowledge and psychopedagogical skills of the staff. These aspects could facilitate the development of tasks tailored to the personality and the psychoevolutional time of children with chronic diseases, as well as to the emotional state of families. The qualitative data was organized into four categories: family support; hospital and education; psychopedagogical training and difficulties in practice. The little communication between nurses and teachers is evident. CONCLUSION The data reinforces the need to implement training strategies and interdisciplinary work among health professionals, educators and families.

Clinical treatment adherence of health care workers and students exposed to potentially infectious biological material

OBJECTIVE To assess adherence to clinical appointments by health care workers (HCW) and students who suffered accidents with potentially infectious biological material. METHOD A retrospective cross-sectional study that assessed clinical records of accidents involving biological material between 2005 and 2010 in a specialized unit. RESULTS A total of 461 individuals exposed to biological material were treated, of which 389 (84.4%) were HCWs and 72 (15.6%) students. Of the 461 exposed individuals, 307 (66.6%) attended a follow-up appointment. Individuals who had suffered an accident with a known source patient were 29 times more likely to show up to their scheduled follow-up appointments (OR: 29.98; CI95%: 16.09-55.83). CONCLUSION The predictor in both univariate and multivariate analyses for adherence to clinical follow-up appointment was having a known source patient with nonreactive serology for the human immunodeficiency virus and/or hepatitis B and C.

Instrument for evaluating care given by undergraduate nursing students to people with wounds

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to present the process of construction and validation of an instrument for evaluating the care provided to people with wounds, to be used with undergraduate nursing students. METHOD Methodological study, with quantitative approach, using the Delphi technique in two rounds, the first with 30 judges and the second with 18. The analysis was made with Kappa coefficient ≥0.80, and content validity index greater than >0.80, also using the Wilcoxon test for comparison of the indices between the rounds. RESULTS It was found that of the 20 categories of the instrument, 18 presented better scores in the second Delphi round. Scores were greater in the second round in seven of the ten evaluation categories. CONCLUSION Based on the evaluation by the judges, a version of the instrument was defined with adequate indices of agreement and validity, which will be able to help in evaluating care of people with cutaneous injury given by undergraduate nursing students.