ABSTRACT
The text De Profundis: Valsa Lenta (De Profundis: Slow Waltz), by Portuguese author José Cardoso Pires, describing the aphasia he experienced after a stroke, was used as a starting point to study the different approaches writers and physician have regarding the disease. The differences in form and content of texts describing the disease in literature and medicine fit in the conflict between the two cultures, as described by C.P. Snow, and are typical of the increasing specialization. The addition of literary texts in training programs for doctors and health professionals may help overcome this gap, making it easier to understand the disease in its broader dimension and collaborating to improve the relationship between patients and professional.
Subject(s)
Aphasia , Education, Medical , Medicine in Literature , Stroke , Aphasia/etiology , Stroke/complications , WritingABSTRACT
In the first decades of this century, pre-nuptial examination, designed to protect descendants from risks attributed to heredity, worked as a true rite of passage in Public Health routine. An educational text concerning this issue is discussed.
Subject(s)
Disease , History, Ancient , History, Early Modern 1451-1600 , History, Medieval , History, Modern 1601- , HumansSubject(s)
Respiratory Tract Diseases/epidemiology , Acute Disease , Brazil , Child, Preschool , Emergencies , Hospitalization , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Time FactorsSubject(s)
Suicide/epidemiology , Brazil , Female , Humans , Male , Suicide, Attempted/epidemiology , Wounds and Injuries/epidemiologyABSTRACT
In response to the many infant deaths from acute respiratory illnesses in Rio Grande do Sul, this state's Secretariat for Health and the Envronment developed a pilot project with a twofold goal: to detect cases in children under five and to assess the feasibility of a program more streamlined than the one proposed by the federal health agencies. Acute respiratory illnesses can be measured acoording to their demand on the health system and according to their seasonal changes (82. percent in summer and 30.6 percent in winter). The study concluded that most cases (98.5 percent) could be treated on an outpatient basis, and that it is possible to implement a disease-control program. This program, based on epidemiologic principles and using simple techniques, should be designed to fit local health-service conditions
