Factores Asociados al Nivel de Ansiedad del Personal de Enfermería al Ofrecer Cuidado al Paciente VIH Positivo / Factors associated with the level of anxiety of nursing personnel taking care of HIV positive patients

The objective of the study was to measure the level of HIV/AIDS related anxiety among hospital nursing staff and identify its determinants. Data were obtained through anonymous self administered questionnaire distributed to 222 nurses. The rasge anxiety and the HIV/AIDS attitudes were the most determinants of the anxiety level in the participants. Specifically, negative HIV/AIDS attitudes was associated with raise in state anxiety level, as well as high level of rasge anxiety was associated with high level of state anxiety. In conclusion, it is necessary to provide to the participants update trainings that included different aspects of HIV infection, as well as, anxiety management when caring for persons with HIV/AIDS.

Factores asociados al inicio, tipo y duración de la lactancia materna entre participantes y no participantes a charla prenatal de educación en lactancia materna de una institución hospitalaria / Factors related to initiation, type and length of breast feeding among participants and non-participants in prenatal breast feeding education at a local hospital

The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated to initiation, type and duration of breastfeeding among participants and non-participants in prenatal breastfeeding classes at a local hospital (n = 153). Pre-experimental study design was used. The participants of the study were selected by simple systematic random sampling. Median age of participants was 28 years and 85 percent were married at the moment of the interview. 88.9 percent began to breast feed at some time and of these 32 percent breastfed for six months. Average number of school years completed by participants was 15.1 with a standard deviation of 1.9 years. The inferential results reflected statistical association between participation in prenatal breastfeeding classes and the initiation, type and duration of breastfeeding. Multiple regression results indicate a positive relationship between duration of breastfeeding and participation in breastfeeding support groups, after controlling for all factors of the conceptual model. The results of this study give support for hospital and community initiatives for increasing the incidence of breastfeeding and for extending the duration of breastfeeding. It is further recommended that continued education courses be offered to health professionals on breastfeeding techniques

Perfil sociodemográfico de un grupo de trabajadoras sexuales de Puerto Rico / Sociodemographic profile of a group of sex workers in Puerto Rico

This research explored the sociodemographic characteristics, the health perceptions and the distinctive aspects of the sexual work of a group of women sexual workers (n = 311). The study interest was generating data relative to the use of injectable drugs, the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), the prevalence of HIV and the risk behaviors of this population group. A remarkable characteristic of the group of women studied was their history of pregnancies at and early age. A high proportion of illness apparently related to the presence of sexually transmitted diseases and limited health care was observed

Mujeres abondonadas por agencias sociales y de salud: reto en la prevención del VIH/SIDA / Women abondoned by social and health agencies: challenge in the prevention of HIV/AIDS

According to the last Island-wide survey carried out in 1982 in Puerto Rico, the cesarean rate for the trienium of 1980-82 was estimated in 27 percent. Since 1989, an item about the type of delivery has been included in the live birth certificate. These data indicate that the incidence of cesarean deliveries continued to increase and by 1994 it amounted to 31 percent, undoubtedly the highest rate of the world. However, its fluctuation since 1990 suggests that this type of delivery has finally steadied in Puerto Rico. The high proportion of repeated cesareans and the low percentage of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) deliveries were important factors contributing to the overall rate. Unexpectedly high risk mothers such as, adolescents, unwed and those of the lower socioeconomic status had highest cesarean rates than their encounterparts. Similarly, mothers who had the most adequate prenatal care had the highest percentages of surgical deliveries. In spite of dealing with a selected clientele, the cesarean rate in private hospitals was more than twice that of public institutions. In fact, a multiple correlation analysis demonstrate that the type of hospital of delivery was the most important correlate of a cesarean

Health care services and sterilization among Puerto Rican women

El análisis que aquí se presenta tiene como propósito el detectar las variables relacionadas con el tipo de servicio usado por la mujer puertorriqueña para su esterilización y uso de contraceptivos. El estudio está basado en una muestra representativa de 1,375 mujeres entre las edades de 15 a 49 años. La información obtenida demuestra que la mayoría de las mujeres usan el sistema de salud privado para su esterilización. Las mujeres más jovenes, menos educadas, desempleadas, no casadas, y las madres adolescentes hicieron mayor uso del sistema de salud público para sus esterilizaciones. Es un hecho probado que las mujeres con estas características están más deprivadas económicamente que las más educadas, las que trabajan y están casadas. Por lo tanto, es de esperarse que este grupo de mujeres no posee los recursos económicos que se necesitan para usar el sistema de salud privado

Psychiatric symptomatology and health care utilization

Este artículo examina la relación entre síntomas y disfunciones psiquiátricos y el uso de servicios de salud mental y salud general. Una muestra de doscientos miembros de la comunidad, cuyas edades fluctuaban entre 18 y 64 años, fueron seleccionados usando un muestreo aleatorio estratificado basado en los criterios de sexo y edad. Los participantes luego fueron categorizados a base de su puntuación agregada en las cinco escalas validadas de Síntomas y Disfunciones Psiquiátricos (PSDS). Los patrones de utilización fueron evaluados de acuerdo a los niveles de sintomatología psiquiátrica que presentaban los sujetos. Los resultados indicaron que según aumentaba el nivel de síntomas psiquiátricos también había un incremento en la proporción de usuarios de servicios de salud mental. Los sujetos con puntuaciones altas en sintomatología mostraron hacer mayor uso de servicios de salud general y de drogas psicotrópicas que aquellos con bajos niveles de síntomas psiquiátricos

Sociodemographic, cultural and interpersonal risk factors as indicators of mental health needs

El objetivo de este an análisis fue examinar un modelo integrado de necessidades de servicios de salud mental que toma en consideración síntomas y disfunciones conductuales, así como factores socioeconómicos y culturales. Este modelo presupone que situaciones específicas de vida y posiciones del individuo en diferentes estructuras sociales son factores básicos para la identificación de necesidades de servicos de salud mental. El método de colección de datos fue una entrevista personal con una muestra de 200 miembros de la comunidad entre las edades de 18 a 64 años, selecinados mediante un muestreo aleatorio estratificado basado en el criterio de sexo y edad. Diferencias estadísticamente significativas se identificaron de acuerdo a edad, sexo, educación, ejecución de los roles sociales, percepciones subjetivas del estado de salud mental, y los niveles de necesidad de servicios de salud mental. Esta evidencia sugiere que los roles sociales y factores de riesgo específicos son elementos básicos al determinar las necesidades de servicos de salud mental

Factores socioculturales asociados con el uso de contraceptivos en Puerto Rico / Sociocultural factors associated with the contraceptive use in Puerto Rico

A survey of family planning practices in Puerto Rico was conducted in 1982. Based on interviews with women 15-49 years old, the survey included 3 175 women who constituted a representative stratified sample of the Puerto Rican population. Information was obtained about each subject's history of pregnancies, married life, contraceptive use, fertility, maternal and child health, breast-feeding, migration, education, employment, and attitude toward abortion. The survey indicated that 45.7 per cent of all Puerto Rican women 15-45 years old and 70 per cent of all married women in this age range were using contraception in 1982. Sterilization (principally female sterilization) was the most common method, being used by 42.6 per cent of the married interview subjects. The pill and other reversible methods tended to be more popular among the younger women, with sterilization becoming markedly more common among older age groups and among women with two or more children. Sterilization was also used by a higher percentage of maried women who had not finished high school, who had been born in Puerto Rico, and who had grown up in Puerto Rico. Neither religion nor employment appeared to exert much influence on sterilization or other contraceptive practices. The prevalence of female sterilization was considerably higher than that found in the United States in 1983, while the prevalence for male sterilization

Female and male sterilization in Puerto Rico

La esterilización es el método contraceptivo preferido por las parejas puertorriqueñas (46% ). Aunque la prevalencia de la esterilización femenina es mayor que la esterilización masculina, la esterilización masculina ha aumentado desde el 1968. Se compararon las características de las mujerees esterilizadas y aquellas que reportan que sus esposos/compañeros están esterilizados. Los resultados indican que un mayor número de mujeres en el segundo grupo tienen un nivel más alto de educación viven en el área metropolitana, tenían más edad al casarse, tienen menos hijos y tenían más edad cuando nacieron sus hijos que las mujeres esterelizadas