Factors related to the development of health-promoting community activities in Spanish primary healthcare: two case-control studies.

OBJECTIVE: Spanish primary healthcare teams have the responsibility of performing health-promoting community activities (CAs), although such activities are not widespread. Our aim was to identify the factors related to participation in those activities. DESIGN: Two case-control studies. SETTING: Performed in primary care of five Spanish regions. SUBJECTS: In the first study, cases were teams that performed health-promoting CAs and controls were those that did not. In the second study (on case teams from the first study), cases were professionals who developed these activities and controls were those who did not. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Team, professional and community characteristics collected through questionnaires (team managers/professionals) and from secondary sources. RESULTS: The first study examined 203 teams (103 cases, 100 controls). Adjusted factors associated with performing CAs were percentage of nurses (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.14), community socioeconomic status (higher vs lower OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.18 to 3.95) and performing undergraduate training (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.93). In the second study, 597 professionals responded (254 cases, 343 controls). Adjusted factors were professional classification (physicians do fewer activities than nurses and social workers do more), training in CAs (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.1), team support (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.5 to 5.7), seniority (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.09), nursing tutor (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.5), motivation (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.8 to 7.5), collaboration with non-governmental organisations (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.1) and participation in neighbourhood activities (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.9 to 5.1). CONCLUSIONS: Professional personal characteristics, such as social sensitivity, profession, to feel team support or motivation, have influence in performing health-promoting CAs. In contrast to the opinion expressed by many professionals, workload is not related to performance of health-promoting CAs.

Melatonin's role as a co-adjuvant treatment in colonic diseases: A review.

Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland as well as many other organs, including the enterochromaffin cells of the digestive mucosa. Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that resists oxidative stress due to its capacity to directly scavenge reactive species, to modulate the antioxidant defense system by increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and to stimulate the innate immune response through its direct and indirect actions. In addition, the dysregulation of the circadian system is observed to be related with alterations in colonic motility and cell disruptions due to the modifications of clock genes expression. In the gastrointestinal tract, the activities of melatonin are mediated by melatonin receptors (MT2), serotonin (5-HT), and cholecystokinin B (CCK2) receptors and via receptor-independent processes. The levels of melatonin in the gastrointestinal tract exceed by 10-100 times the blood concentrations. Also, there is an estimated 400 times more melatonin in the gut than in the pineal gland. Gut melatonin secretion is suggested to be influenced by the food intake. Low dose melatonin treatment accelerates intestinal transit time whereas high doses may decrease gut motility. Melatonin has been studied as a co-adjuvant treatment in several gastrointestinal diseases including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C), diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D), Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and necrotizing enterocolitis. The purpose of this review is to provide information regarding the potential benefits of melatonin as a co-adjuvant treatment in gastrointestinal diseases, especially IBS, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and necrotizing enterocolitis.

Observational study on factors related to health-promoting community activity development in primary care (frAC Project): a study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: According to Spanish health regulations, primary care professionals have the responsibility to carry out health-promoting community activities (CAs). However, in practice, their implementation is not as widespread as it should be. The aims of this study were to identify factors within the team, the community and the professionals that influence the development of these activities and to describe the community interventions in progress. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study is an observational analytical retrospective study. The information will be collected from five Spanish regions: Catalonia, Madrid, the Balearic Islands, Navarra and Aragón. The authors will contact primary care teams (PCTs) and identify the CAs from the previous year. The research team will conduct a peer review whether the inclusion criteria are met. In the health centres where CAs are implemented, the authors will select professionals carrying them out and randomly select an identical number of professionals not doing these activities. In the centres where no CA is implemented, three professionals will be randomly selected. The selected professionals will complete the questionnaires for individual-level variables. Information about the registered population and the PCTs will be collected through questionnaires and secondary sources. OUTCOMES: Variables will be collected from the community, the PCTs, the individual professionals and CAs. ANALYSIS: A descriptive analysis of all the variables will be carried out, along with a bivariate and a logistic regression analysis, with CAs being the primary outcome. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Jordi Gol y Gurina Foundation in Barcelona and area 11 in Madrid. The questionnaire distributed to the professionals will be anonymous.