Educational Group Practices in Primary Care: Interaction Between Professionals, Users and Knowledge

OBJECTIVE To investigate the concept understood by Family Healthcare Strategy (ESF) professionals of knowledge, education and subjects participating in learning activities. METHOD Qualitative study carried out with the ESF professionals with university degree, members of the healthcare staff who undertook educational health group activities at Basic Healthcare Units (UBS) in Belo Horizonte. The following triangulation techniques were used: participant observation, photos and field notes; interviews with professionals; and document analysis. RESULTS We identified three interaction patterns that are different from each other. Firstly, the professional questions, listens and provides information to users, trusting in the transmission of knowledge; secondly, the professional questions and listens, trusting that users can learn from each other; thirdly, the professional questions, listens, discusses and produces knowledge with users, both teaching and learning from each other. CONCLUSION There are educational practices that include unique methods capable of creating a militant space for citizenship engagement.

Massage with aromatherapy: effectiveness on anxiety of users with personality disorders in psychiatric hospitalization

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effectiveness of aromatherapy massage using the essential oils (0.5%) of Lavandula angustifolia and Pelargonium graveolens for anxiety reduction in patients with personality disorders during psychiatric hospitalization. METHOD Uncontrolled clinical trial with 50 subjects submitted to six massages with aromatherapy, performed on alternate days, on the cervical and the posterior thoracic regions. Vital data (heart and respiratory rate) were collected before and after each session and an anxiety scale (Trait Anxiety Inventory-State) was applied at the beginning and end of the intervention. The results were statistically analyzed with the chi square test and paired t test. RESULTS There was a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.001) of the heart and respiratory mean rates after each intervention session, as well as in the inventory score. CONCLUSION Aromatherapy has demonstrated effectiveness in anxiety relief, considering the decrease of heart and respiratory rates in patients diagnosed with personality disorders during psychiatric hospitalization.

Performance comparison of an active matrix flat panel imager, computed radiography system, and a screen-film system at four standard radiation qualities.

Four standard radiation qualities (from RQA 3 to RQA 9) were used to compare the imaging performance of a computed radiography (CR) system (general purpose and high resolution phosphor plates of a Kodak CR 9000 system), a selenium-based direct flat panel detector (Kodak Direct View DR 9000), and a conventional screen-film system (Kodak T-MAT L/RA film with a 3M Trimax Regular screen of speed 400) in conventional radiography. Reference exposure levels were chosen according to the manufacturer's recommendations to be representative of clinical practice (exposure index of 1700 for digital systems and a film optical density of 1.4). With the exception of the RQA 3 beam quality, the exposure levels needed to produce a mean digital signal of 1700 were higher than those needed to obtain a mean film optical density of 1.4. In spite of intense developments in the field of digital detectors, screen-film systems are still very efficient detectors for most of the beam qualities used in radiology. An important outcome of this study is the behavior of the detective quantum efficiency of the digital radiography (DR) system as a function of beam energy. The practice of users to increase beam energy when switching from a screen-film system to a CR system, in order to improve the compromise between patient dose and image quality, might not be appropriate when switching from screen-film to selenium-based DR systems.

Relationship between the users' contact time in educational programs on diabetes mellitus and self-care skills and knowledge

Abstract OBJECTIVE Check the relationship between the users' contact time in educational programs and self-care and knowledge variables in diabetes mellitus. METHOD A longitudinal study with a quantitative approach with the participation, in the initial phase, of 263 users linked to Basic Health Units in Belo Horizonte, Brazil during the years 2012 and 2013. The data were collected with respect to the total contact time of the users' participation in the educational program as regards knowledge and self-care in acquired diabetes mellitus. The data were analyzed using the Student t-test for comparison of means, considering a 0.05 significance level. RESULTS The final sample included 151 users. The analysis showed that the improvement in self-care scores was statistically higher during an educational intervention of eight hours or more (p-value <0.05). In relation to the scores for knowledge, there was a statistically significant improvement at the end of the educational program. It was not possible to identify a value for the contact time from which there was an increase in mean scores for the ability of knowledge. CONCLUSION To improve the effectiveness of the promotion of skills related to knowledge and self-care in diabetes mellitus, it is necessary to consider the contact time as a relevant factor of the educational program.

Frequent users of emergency departments present very high prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders, which are largery underdiagnosed by clinicians.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine if mental health and substance use diagnoses were equally detected in frequent users (FUs) compared to infrequent users (IUs) of emergency departments (EDs). Methods: In a sample of 399 adult patients (>= 18 years old) admitted to a teaching hospital ED, we compared the mental health and substance use disorders diagnoses established clinically and consigned in the medical files by the ED physicians to data obtained in face-to-face research interviews using the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) and the Alcohol, Smoking and Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). Between November 2009 and June 2010, 226 FUs (>4 visits within a year) who attended the ED were included, and 173 IUs (<= 4 visits within a year) were randomly selected from a pool of identified patients to comprise the comparison group. Results: For mental health disorders identified by the PRIME-MD, FUs were more likely than IUs to have an anxiety (34 vs. 16%, Chi2(1) = 16.74, p <0.001), depressive (47 vs. 25%, Chi2(1) = 19.11, p <0.001) or posttraumatic stress (PTSD) disorder (11 vs. 5%, Chi2(1) = 4.87, p = 0.027). Only 3/76 FUs (4%) with an anxiety disorder, 16/104 FUs (15%) with a depressive disorder and none of the 24 FUs with PTSD were detected by the ED medical staff. None of the 27 IUs with an anxiety disorder, 6/43 IUs (14%) with a depressive disorder and none of the 8 IUs with PTSD were detected. For substance use disorders identified by the ASSIST, FUs were more at risk than IUs for alcohol (24 vs. 7%, Chi2(1) = 21.12, p <0.001) and drug abuse/dependence (36 vs. 25%, Chi2(1) = 5.52, p = 0.019). Of the FUs, 14/54 (26%) using alcohol and 8/81 (10%) using drugs were detected by the ED physicians. Of the IUs, 5/12 (41%) using alcohol and none of the 43 using drugs were detected. Overall, there was no significant difference in the rate of detection of mental health and substance use disorders between FUs and IUs (Fisher's Exact Test: anxiety, p = 0.567; depression, p = 1.000; PTSD, p = 1.000; alcohol, p = 0.517; and drugs, p = 0.053). Conclusions: While the prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders was higher among FUs, the rates of detection were not significantly different for FUs vs. IUs. However, it may be that drug disorders among FUs were more likely to be detected.

Effectiveness of interventions targeting frequent users of emergency departments: a systematic review

Texte intégral: http://www.springerlink.com/content/3q68180337551r47/fulltext.pdf

Computer Tips and Tricks Newsletter, May, 2007

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Computer Tips and Tricks Newsletter, January, 2006

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Computer Tips and Tricks Newsletter, February, 2006

Performance & Development Solutions (PDS) publishes a variety of newsletters that include some great information about our programs and services. Some of the topics you may find include: Upcoming Seminars Current events or news related to training Recognition of achievements How-to section

Computer Tips and Tricks Newsletter, March, 2006

Performance & Development Solutions (PDS) publishes a variety of newsletters that include some great information about our programs and services. Some of the topics you may find include: Upcoming Seminars Current events or news related to training Recognition of achievements How-to section

Computer Tips and Tricks Newsletter, January, 2007

Performance & Development Solutions (PDS) publishes a variety of newsletters that include some great information about our programs and services. Some of the topics you may find include: Upcoming Seminars Current events or news related to training Recognition of achievements How-to section

Computer Tips and Tricks Newsletter, February, 2007

Performance & Development Solutions (PDS) publishes a variety of newsletters that include some great information about our programs and services. Some of the topics you may find include: Upcoming Seminars Current events or news related to training Recognition of achievements How-to section

Computer Tips and Tricks Newsletter, March, 2007

Performance & Development Solutions (PDS) publishes a variety of newsletters that include some great information about our programs and services. Some of the topics you may find include: Upcoming Seminars Current events or news related to training Recognition of achievements How-to section