Nutritional status and functional capacity of hospitalized elderly

Background: The nutritional status of the aging individual results from a complex interaction between personal and environmental factors. A disease influences and is influenced by the nutritional status and the functional capacity of the individual. We asses the relationship between nutritional status and indicators of functional capacity among recently hospitalized elderly in a general hospital.Methods: A cross-sectional study was done with 240 elderly (women, n = 127 and men, n = 113) hospitalized in a hospital that provides care for the public and private healthcare systems. The nutritional status was classified by the MNA (Mini Nutritional Assessment) into: malnourished, risk of malnutrition and without malnutrition (adequate). The functional autonomy indicators were obtained by the self-reported Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) and Activity of Daily Living (ADL) questionnaire. The chi-square test was used to compare the proportions and the level of significance was 5%.Results: Among the assessed elderly, 33.8% were classified as adequate regarding nutritional status; 37.1% were classified as being at risk of malnutrition and 29.1% were classified as malnourished. All the IADL and ADL variables assessed were significantly more deteriorated among the malnourished individuals. Among the ADL variables, eating partial (42.9%) or complete (12.9%) dependence was found in more than half of the malnourished elderly, in 13.4% of those at risk of malnutrition and in 2.5% of those without malnutrition.Conclusion: There is an interrelationship between the nutritional status of the elderly and reduced functional capacity.

Absence motivated by illness: A non-concurrent prospective study of physical education teachers in the municipal education system of the city of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

The object of this investigation was to identify and analize aspects of the health status related to absenteism in physical education teachers in the municipal education system of the city of Campinas, Brazil, as related to the medical leave program. The non-concurrent prospective study was accomplished by means of a comparison with teachers who work only in the classroom, refering to a three year period. In the variables of greatest interest, the Pearson non-parametric chi-square (X2) statistical test was adopted. Calculations of relative risk and level of confidence were made using the Epi-info computer program. Significant differences were observed in the following diagnostic groups favoring the not exposed group: i) Supplementary Classification of factors that exercise influence over the health status and access to health services and ii) Digestive system illness; while the physical education teachers showed a significant difference in: i) diseases of the musculoskeletal and connective tissue system and ii) Injuries and poisoing. Possible explications for some of the adverse effects as well as the protective ones that were observed include physical activity as a way of life along with being a physical education teacher and on the other side, peculiar behavior of epidemiological descriptive characteristics, like sex and age, within the socio-economic context of the country. © Copyright Moreira Jr. Editora.

Social health protection for the elderly in the English-speaking Caribbean

Includes bibliography

The migration of health care workers in the Western Hemisphere: issues and impacts

Includes bibliography

Innovations in health care services: The CAALYX system

Purpose: This paper describes proposed health care services innovations, provided by a system called CAALYX (Complete Ambient Assisted Living eXperiment). CAALYX aimed to provide healthcare innovation by extending the state-of-the-art in tele-healthcare, by focusing on increasing the confidence of elderly people living autonomously, by building on the knowledge base of the most common disorders and respective characteristic vital sign changes for this age group. Methods: A review of the state-of-the-art on health care services was carried out. Then, extensive research was conducted on the particular needs of the elderly in relation to home health services that, if offered to them, could improve their day life by giving them greater confidence and autonomy. To achieve this, we addressed issues associated with the gathering of clinical data and interpretation of these data, as well as possibilities of automatically triggering appropriate clinical measures. Considering this initial work we started the identification of initiatives, ongoing works and technologies that could be used for the development of the system. After that, the implementation of CAALYX was done. Findings: The innovation in CAALYX system considers three main areas of contribution: (i) The Roaming Monitoring System that is used to collect information on the well-being of the elderly users; (ii) The Home Monitoring System that is aimed at helping the elders independently living at home being implemented by a device (a personal computer or a set top box) that supports the connection of sensors and video cameras that may be used for monitoring and for interaction with the elder; (iii) The Central Care Service and Monitoring System that is implemented by a Caretaker System where attention and care services are provided to elders, where actors as Caretakers, Doctors and Relatives are logically linked to elders. Innovations in each of these areas are presented here. Conclusions: The ageing European society is placing an added burden on future generations, as the 'elderly-to-working-age-people' ratio is set to steadily increase in the future. Nowadays, quality of life and fitness allows for most older persons to have an active life well into their eighties. Furthermore, many older persons prefer to live in their own house and choose their own lifestyle. The CAALYX system can have a clear impact in increasing older persons' autonomy, by ensuring that they do not need to leave their preferred environment in order to be properly monitored and taken care of. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ricinus communis treatment of denture stomatitis in institutionalised elderly

This study compared the effectiveness of Ricinus communis (RC) with Nystatin (NYS) and Miconazole (MIC) in the treatment of institutionalised elderly with denture stomatitis (DS). They (n = 30) were randomly distributed into three groups: MIC, NYS or RC. Clinical and mycological evaluations were performed prior to the use of the antifungal (baseline) and repeated after 15 and 30 days of treatment. The sample was clinically examined for oral mucosal conditions. Standard photographs were taken of the palate, and the oral candidiasis was classified (Newton's criteria). Mycological investigation was performed by swabbing the palatal mucosa, and Candida spp. were quantified by counting the number of colony-forming units (cfu mL-1). The clinical and mycological data were analysed, respectively by Wilcoxon and Student's t-test (α = 0·05). Significant improvement in the clinical appearance of DS in the MIC and RC groups was observed between the 1st and 3rd collections (MIC - P = 0·018; RC - P = 0·011) as well as between the 2nd and 3rd collections (MIC - P = 0·018; RC - P = 0·011). Neither groups showed a statistically significant reduction in cfu mL-1 at any time. Although none of the treatments decreased the cfu mL-1, it was concluded that Ricinus communis can improve the clinical condition of denture stomatitis in institutionalised elderly patients, showing similar results to Miconazole. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Um estudo da escrita de alunos surdos do ensino fundamental-ciclo III da rede municipal de Araraquara

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Representações de docentes sobre a inclusão escolar de alunos com deficiências na rede municipal de ensino

Pós-graduação em Psicologia - FCLAS

Avaliação da qualidade da atenção básica no município de Bauru: desafios para um processo de mudança

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Gestão dos recursos financeiros de saúde nos municípios da DRS VI Bauru-SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Distribuição espacial da população de sessenta anos e mais no município de Botucatu-SP

Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva - FMB

Perfil de resistência aos antimicrobianos em coliformes isolados do Sistema Municipal de Abastecimento de Água de São José do Rio Preto-SP

Pós-graduação em Microbiologia - IBILCE

O poder municipal e as práticas mercantilistas no mundo colonial: um estudo sobre a Câmara Municipal de São Paulo – 1780-1822

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

O Conselho Municipal do Idoso de Belém e a participação: reflexões críticas

Este trabalho parte da compreensão de que o envelhecimento deve ser reconhecido enquanto processo social contínuo de transformação do ser humano, e construção social que depende da estrutura social, cultural e econômica de cada povo, considerando a realidade da Política Nacional do Idoso e do Estatuto do Idoso no Brasil, e a diretriz da participação nas políticas sociais. Como a participação se desenvolve no espaço público do conselho do idoso, o lócus da pesquisa foi o Conselho Municipal do Idoso de Belém. Para verificar como os membros do Conselho exercitam a participação voltada para o controle social, foi realizada uma análise documental do Conselho no período de 2006 a 2010. Nela pôde ser constatada uma fragilidade na documentação existente do Conselho, particularmente no registro das atas que informam acerca das deliberações e da ausência de registros das ações sobre visitas às entidades e da organização da Conferência Municipal. A análise documental revela que as ações desenvolvidas pelo Conselho Municipal do Idoso divergem do previsto na política pública quanto ao papel do Conselho. Logo, não podem ser consideradas como exercício de controle social, uma vez que a participação dos membros do Conselho é restrita, e não influencia na política municipal de stinada ao idoso.

Medicamentos utilizados no controle da hipertensão no Distrito Administrativo DAGUA em Belém, PA

A Hipertensão Arterial Sistêmica (HAS) é uma condição associada a elevados índices de morbidade e mortalidade com baixas taxas de controle, sendo um dos mais importantes problemas de saúde publica no mundo. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo exploratório de natureza transversal e observacional, realizado em cinco unidades de saúde do Distrito Administrativo DAGUA, localizadas no municipio de Belém-PA, no período entre março de 2010 a agosto de 2011. A pesquisa também realizou estudo documental onde informações foram transcritas, para formulários da pesquisa. Este estudo buscou conhecer a logística de suprimento e o perfil de utilização de medicamentos para o controle da Pressão Arterial Sistêmica no Distrito Administrativo DAGUA. Para tanto foram investigados o perfil sóciodemográfico dos participantes do programa HIPERDIA, quais os medicamentos disponibilizados pela rede municipal de saúde para o tratamento da HAS, assim como a logística empregada pelo município para a disponbibilidade de acesso aos mesmos. A população deste estudo se caracterizou por ser principalmente idosa, com baixa escolaridade e predominantemente formada por pardos. Observou-se, que 53,78% dos pacientes faz uso de monoterapia e 46,22% de politerapia. 36,84% utiliza somente Captopril. 65,31% dos pacientes que fazem politerapia utilizam a associação de Captopril e hidroclorotiazida. Não se encontrou correlações significativas entre os aspectos socioeconômicos dos participantes e o controle dos níveis de pressão arterial. O conhecimento sobre a HAS não influenciou os resultados da PA. 51,96% dos pacientes apresenta PA não controlada. Em função da falta de abastecimento de medicamentos nas unidades de saúde e do perfil socioeconômico dos usuários, o Programa Farmácia Popular do Brasil apresenta-se como uma importante estrátegia para o acesso desses pacientes ao seu tratamento. Por fim, resumindo os achados, observou-se que o ciclo logístico da Assistência Farmacêutica em Belém – em especial as etapas de programação, aquisição e dispensação de medicamentos – não respeita o atual arcabouço legal que regulamenta a Política Nacional de Assistência Farmacêutica. Contatou-se falta de uniformização entre os medicamentos programados para unidades localizadas na mesma região, além da grande diferença entre as condições de compra dos medicamentos quando comparado a outras licitações, que chegam a gerar diferenças de preços de até 3000%. Conclui-se que que a gestão técnica da assistência farmacêutica no município de Belém é inefetiva e ineficiente para o cuidado de pacientes portadores de Hipertensão Arterial Sistêmica.