Introspección hacia su condición de un grupo de pacientes puertorriqueños con trastornos mentales / Introspection into the condition of the group of puertorican patients with mental disorders

The purpose of this study was to explore the degree of insight towards their condition of a group of Puerto Rican mental patients. A non-probabilistic (n = 51) sample was used for convenience and availability from the total patient population with mental conditions who received treatment, during June 1997, in a Diagnostic and Treatment Center (DTC) of the Puerto Rico Department of Health. Descriptive statistics were used, as well as the Cramer chi-square and the Mann Whitney t-test. Fifty two percent of the participants had a high level of insight and the participant's gender (t = 1.92, p = 0.05). Males obtained a higher average grading in the insight scale than females. It was expected that the studied population would be stable in their conditions since they were being treated at the outpatient level. Even so, almost half of the patients had a low level of insight towards their conditions. Implications of these results are very important for health education efforts, since almost half of the patients do not understand that they suffer a serious mental disturbance.

Obstetras y pediatras: Experiencia con la lactancia materna en sus programas de residencia / Obstetricians and pediatricians: experience with breastfeeding in their residency programs

A prior study had the objective of identifying knowledge and experience on breastfeeding of obstetricians and pediatricians in two private hospitals of the Metropolitan Area of San Juan, Puerto Rico. This study presents the experience of those physicians regarding breastfeeding education during their residency training. An exploratory research design was used, the sample was non-probabilistic and was selected according to availability for participation among the physicians who visited those hospitals during June, 1997. The studied sample included 29 pediatricians and 26 obstetricians. Descriptive statistics and crosstab tables were used to describe the results. It was found that participating physicians had little or no exposition to breastfeeding related topics during their respective residency programs. They are aware of the importance of their role in the achievement of successful breastfeeding. They perceive themselves as effective in stimulating breastfeeding although they recognize that they should have received better training on the subject. This attitude is worrisome in face of the fact that this same group presented significant deficiencies in a previous study with regards to knowledge in the management of breastfeeding.