Iowa's Community College Basic Literacy Skills Credential Program Annual Report, 2002

The purpose of this report is to document the results of Iowa’s community college based basic literacy skills credential program for Program Year 2002 (July 1, 2001-June 30, 2002). The credentialing program is administered through Iowa’s community colleges and consists of four (4) components: (1) basic literacy skills certification, (2) Iowa High School Equivalency Diploma, (3) community college based adult high school diploma, and (4) traditional high school diploma. A brief description of each component is presented in the following sections.

Iowa's Community College Basic Literacy Skills Credential Program Annual Report, 2003

The purpose of this report is to document the results of Iowa’s community college based basic literacy skills credential program for Program Year 2003 (July 1, 2002-June 30, 2003). The credentialing program is administered through Iowa’s community colleges and consists of four (4) components: (1) basic literacy skills certification, (2) Iowa High School Equivalency Diploma, (3) community college based adult high school diploma, and (4) traditional high school diploma. A brief description of each component is presented in the following sections.

Iowa's Community college Basic Literacy Skills Credential Program Annual Report, 2005

The purpose of this report is to document the results of Iowa’s community college based basic literacy skills credential program for Program Year 2005 (July 1, 2004-June 30, 2005). The credentialing program is administered through Iowa’s community colleges and consists of four (4) components: (1) basic literacy skills certification, (2) Iowa High School Equivalency Diploma, (3) community college based adult high school diploma, and (4) traditional high school diploma. A brief description of each component is presented in the following sections.

Supervision of Community Health Agents in the Family Health Strategy: the perspective of nurses

Objective Analyzing the conceptions of supervision of nurses in the Family Health Strategy (ESF - Estratégia Saúde da Família) in relation to community health workers (ACS – Agente Comunitário de Saúde), taking for reference the work process and the power relations. Method A qualitative study, in which 18 interviews were carried out with nurses from the ESF in the countryside of the state of Goiás. Following transcription, the data were subjected to thematic content analysis and the following categories were identified: Supervision with that sees it all and Supervision is participating and working together. Results Among the findings, it is clear the character of control and monitoring that is carried out primarily through printed instruments and home visits, which constitute vertical and impositive relations, and suffer influence of the local health management. Another finding is the supervision as acting together and with the educational perspective. Conclusion The supervision carried out does not provide the changes intended by the ESF.

Solvability of mental health care in the Family Health Strategy: social representation of professionals and users

Objective To aprehend the social representations about the solvability in mental health care with users of the Family Health Strategy and professionals of family health teams and of the Center for Psychosocial Care. Method A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews for data collection, and the Alceste software for analysis. This software uses the Hierarchical Descending Classification based on the examination of lexical roots, considering the words as units and providing context in the corpus. Results The representations emerge in two opposing poles: the users require satisfaction with care and the professionals realize the need for improvement of health actions. Although the matricial support in mental health and the home visits are developed, the barriers related to investment in health, continuing education and organization of care persist. Conclusion The different representations enable improvements in customer service, solvability of care and aggregate knowledge and practices in the expanded perspective of health needs in the family, social and therapeutic context.


The role of primary care in the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections

Little research has been conducted to date on the role of primary health care (PHC) in the prevention of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs). The present article is a theoretical study of the principle of primum non nocere and aims to promote reflection on the role of PHC in HCAI prevention with emphasis on practical recommendations. The indirect and direct roles of PHC in HCAI prevention are debated in light of this guiding principle. With respect to the indirect role of PHC, we discuss the issues of hospital-centrism and ambulatory care-sensitive conditions. The article outlines a number of challenges faced by health services related to PHC’s direct role in HCAI prevention, highlights seven key components of HCAI prevention programmes within the PHC sphere and provides practical recommendations for HCAI control and prevention.


Use of medicinal plants by black women: ethnography study in a low-income community

Objective To explore beliefs, values and practices related to the use of medicinal plants among low-income black families. Method The research method was ethnography and the participant observation process was done in a low-income community in the peripheral area of the City of São Paulo. Twenty black women were interviewed. Results Two cultural sub-themes, I do use medicines that I learned to make with my mother and with religious practitioners to care for diseases and Home medicines are to treat problems that are not serious, and the cultural theme I do use home medicines to treat simple diseases because I always have them at my disposal, they are free and I don’t need a medical prescription represent beliefs, values, and practices related to the use of medicinal plants among low-income black families. Conclusion The development of such practices, which can hide ethnic and social vulnerability, reveals the resilience of low-income black women in the process of confronting problems during the health-illness process.

Assessment of primary health care: health professionals’ perspective

Objective To assess primary health care attributes of access to a first contact, comprehensiveness, coordination, continuity, family guidance and community orientation. Method An evaluative, quantitative and cross-sectional study with 35 professional teams in the Family Health Program of the Alfenas region, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Data collection was done with the Primary Care Assessment Tool - Brazil, professional version. Results Results revealed a low percentage of medical experts among the participants who evaluated the attributes with high scores, with the exception of access to a first contact. Data analysis revealed needs for improvement: hours of service; forms of communication between clients and healthcare services and between clients and professionals; the mechanism of counter-referral. Conclusion It was concluded that there is a mismatch between the provision of services and the needs of the population, which compromises the quality of primary health care.




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.

Social representation of domestic violence against women among Nursing Technicians and Community Agents

OBJECTIVE To analyze the social representations of the Nursing Technicians and Community Health Agents about domestic violence against women. METHOD A qualitative study carried out in the city of Rio Grande, RS, in which evocations and interviews were collected between July and November 2013. For the treatment of data were used the EVOC 2005 software and the context analysis. RESULT It is a structured representation, in which the central nucleus contains conceptual, imaging and attitudinal elements, namely: abuse, aggression, physical aggression, cowardice and lack of respect. Such terms were present in the context of the interviews. The professionals acknowledged that violence is not limited to physical aspects and were judgemental about the acts of the aggressor. CONCLUSION This knowledge may enable the problematization of the studied phenomenon with the team, and facilitate the search for prevention and intervention strategies for victims, offenders and managers of health services.

Children's health care assistance according to their families: a comparison between models of Primary Care

OBJECTIVE To compare the health assistance models of Basic Traditional Units (UBS) with the Family Health Strategy (ESF) units for presence and extent of attributes of Primary Health Care (APS), specifically in the care of children. METHOD A cross-sectional study of a quantitative approach with families of children attended by the Public Health Service of Colombo, Paraná. The Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCA-Tool) was applied to parents of 482 children, 235 ESF units and 247 UBS units covering all primary care units of the municipality, between June and July 2012. The results were analyzed according to the PCA-Tool manual. RESULTS ESF units reached a borderline overall score for primary health care standards. However, they fared better in their attributes of Affiliation, Integration of care coordination, Comprehensiveness, Family Centeredness and Accessibility of use, while the attributes of Community Guidance/Orientation, Coordination of Information Systems, Longitudinality and Access attributes were rated as insufficient for APS. UBS units had low scores on all attributes. CONCLUSION The ESF units are closer to the principles of APS (Primary Health Care), but there is need to review actions of child care aimed at the attributes of APS in both care models, corroborating similar studies from other regions of Brazil.

Facilitators of the transition process for the self-care of the person with stoma: subsidies for Nursing

OBJECTIVE To know the facilitating factors of the transition process from dependency to the self-care of people with a stoma. METHOD This is a descriptive study of qualitative approach, including 27 people with permanent stomas due to cancer. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and submitted to content analysis based on the Transition Theory as theoretical reference. RESULTS The self-care facilitators related to the person were the positive significance of ostomy; the preparation for this experience already in the preoperative period; emotional stability; faith; religiousness; and a sense of normalcy acquired from a next image similar to the previous one. The facilitators related to the community were the following: receiving equipment for free from the government; support from family and the multidisciplinary team, especially the nurses; and having contact with other people with stomata. CONCLUSION The results allow that nurses develop strategies to help people with stomata to resume their self-care.

Empowering a group of seniors in a rural community

OBJECTIVE To describe the stages of the empowerment process of a group of seniors in a rural community. METHOD Convergent care research whose foundation is to use the scope of practice. Conducted with the proposal to change the practice of 21 seniors and nine health professionals, with the aim of health promotion empowerment. Data were collected during 22 meetings, and group interviews at the end of the intervention. RESULTS Showed that despite the initial impact of the change, the group was able to welcome the new change, taking advantage of the space to express anxieties, share joys, and build new knowledge, which led to the incorporation of changes that reflected in the development of healthy habits and improvements in interpersonal relationships. CONCLUSION The convergent care research consisted of strategy that changed the group's lives, empowering them with health promoting actions.

Accidental intoxication of the infant-juvenile population in households: profiles of emergency care

OBJECTIVE Analyzing profiles of intoxication and accidental poisoning of infant-juvenile population (0-24 years) in the household, treated at a reference facility for Emergency and Primary Care, during the year 2013. METHOD A descriptive, cross-sectional study. Data were analyzed using Epi-Info, by way of simple and bivariate analyzes. The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (protocol 405.578). RESULTS There were 45 intoxications, with a prevalence of males (60.0%), aged 1-4 years (71.1%). Among children under one, there was a higher frequency of pesticide poisoning (66.6%), between the ages of 1-4 by cleaning products (34.4%), and between 5-9 years of age by pharmacological substances (66.6%). The primary assistance was provided only at health institutions, with hospital admissions in 24.4% of the cases. CONCLUSION The importance of prevention through legislation is evident, in order to ensure greater safety in packaging of various products, and community awareness to eliminate risks in the household environment.

Time standards of nursing in Primary Health Care: an observational study

Abstract OBJECTIVE To determine time standards for interventions and activities conducted by nursing professionals in Family Health Units (FHU) in Brazil to substantiate the calculation of work force. METHOD This was an observational study carried out in 27 FHU, in 12 municipalities in 10 states, in 2013. In each unit, nursing professionals were observed every 10 minutes, for eight work hours, on five consecutive days via the work sampling technique. RESULTS A total of 32,613 observations were made, involving 47 nurses and 93 nursing technicians/assistants. Appointments were the main intervention carried out by nurses, with a mean time of 25.3 minutes, followed by record-keeping, which corresponded to 9.7%. On average, nursing technicians/assistants spent 6.3% of their time keeping records and 30.6 intervention minutes on immunization/vaccination control. CONCLUSION The study resulted in standard times of interventions carried out by the FHU nursing team, which can underpin the determination of nursing staff size and human resource policies. Furthermore, the study showed the panorama of interventions currently employed, allowing for the work process to be reviewed and optimized.