[Factors associated with vaccination against influenza A (H1N1) in the elderly]. / Fatores associados à vacinação contra Influenza A (H1N1) em idosos.

This study aimed to investigate the sociodemographic, clinical and behavioral factors and receiving information about the vaccine against pandemic influenza A (H1N1) associated with vaccination of elderly people. Study of quantitative and transversal nature, in which 286 elderly residents in Fortaleza, CE, Brazil participated. The association between variables was analyzed by the Pearson chi-square test, considering a 95% confidence interval and significance level (p≤0.05). The results revealed that, unlike the sociodemographic characteristics, many clinical, behavioral and informational aspects correlated significantly with adherence to Influenza A (H1N1) vaccination. It is believed that the findings can be used in strategies to control and prevent infection by viral subtypes within the elderly population, extensible even to other vaccine-preventable diseases, especially in light of possible future pandemics.

[Assessment of self-care competence of elderly people with diabetes]. / Avaliação da competência de idosos diabéticos para o autocuidado.

This descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational study aimed to assess the self-care competencies of senior citizens with diabetes using the Scale to Identify Diabetes Mellitus Patients' Competence for Self-Care and personal factors associated with it. The study population consisted of seniors registered in primary healthcare units in Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. Only 6% of the patients were considered to have diabetes self-care competence. Low educational level and decreased visual acuity were identified as factors that influenced these low scores. The results, which showed that a small number of seniors were considered competent to practice self-care, indicated the importance of developing health promotion activities targeted to this population, assessing skills and encouraging self-care practices to facilitate the planning of health interventions.

Burden and modifications in life from the perspective of caregivers for patients after stroke.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the impact that caring has on a member of the family caring for a patient after a cerebrovascular accident, correlating life modifications and mental suffering with the perceived burden. METHOD: a cross-sectional, quantitative study, undertaken in January-April 2010 in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. RESULT: 61 individuals were investigated, monitored by three hospitals' Home Care Program. Data collection was through interviews for identifying life changes, and through the application of three scales for investigating perceived burden, mental state and mental suffering. Respectively these were the Caregiver Burden Scale (CBS), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Self Reported Questionnaire (SRQ). The majority of the carers were female, married, and the children of the stroke patients. The average age was 48.2 years (±12.4). The most-cited life modifications referred to the daily routine, to leisure activities, and to exhaustion or tiredness. Regarding burden, the dimensions of General tension, Isolation and Disappointment stood out. It was ascertained that overload was more severe when the carer presented more symptoms of psychological distress, in the absence of a secondary carer, and when the principal carers reported perceiving changes in their bodies and health. CONCLUSION: an association between burden and the carer's mental state was not observed. Understanding the care, through analysis of the burden and of the knowledge of the biopsychosocial situation will provide support for the nurse's work in reducing the overload for family caregivers.

[Home healthcare: a critical appraisal on nursing scientific production]. / Assistência domiciliária em saúde: um olhar crítico sobre a produção científica de enfermagem.

The aim was to analyze the nursing scientific production concerning to home health care, from bibliography in electronic addresses of nursing journals, covering the period between 2000 and 2007. Two themes were identified: organization of home care and perceptions of caregivers and their families about the home care. There was the interest of authors in define concepts that reflect the ways of organizing the professional assistance in home and in identify the characteristics of caregivers and their families. In conclusion, the nursing has entered the care at home as the object of their search, but still so low, a fact which reinforces the need for expansion and dissemination of research of the profession.

[Tendencies of life quality in the scientific nursing production]. / Tendências da temática qualidade de vida na produção científica de enfermagem.

This study is characterized by bibliographical research of life quality, undertaken the BDENF and LILACS databases, at the BIREME Virtual Library. Nursing magazines rated as B and C international and B national were also researched by QUALIS/CAPES. The results obtained indicated that the production of knowledge on the topic being discussed is limited to situations of health problems, especially in specific groups. The production is still restricted to graduate courses, which limits the circulation among its peers.

[The Pan-American Federation of Nursing Professionals: a vision and perspective for the 21st century]. / La Federación Panamericana de Profesionales de Enfermería: visión y proyecciones para el siglo XXI.

This essay concerns the prospective vision of The Pan-American Federation of Nursing Professionals in the scenario of health and education in the new century. It discusses the concepts of association, leadership, and paths the profession has taken as a professional organization. It makes a brief historical study of the construction of nursing as profession and its organization as a corporation. In the second part it places FEPPEN in this context of nursing as corporation, revealing its aims and the specific struggles in which it has played an important role. Finally it discusses the role of associations in building a healthier and fairer society.

[Design of a pedagogical project: collective experience]. / A construção do projeto pedagógico: uma experiência coletiva.

This study describes the ongoing experience to reform the pedagogical project of the undergraduate nursing program from Federal University of Ceará, based on the curricular guidelines approved by CNE/CE,S in 2001. It exposes the process of compliance the professors and students had to go through in order to abide by the proposal introduced by LDB/96 (Basic Guidelines Law/95), as well as the different stages needed to build referential, conceptual, and philosophical landmarks. The difficulties experienced relate to a poor commitment of professors to this process, due to the peculiar situation of the program: many professors retiring; a high number of substitute professors under provisional circumstances, which refrained them from long-term commitment. The adoption of a political-pedagogical project aimed at a reform of nursing teaching cannot occur in this situation.