[International perspective about quality indicators in nursing doctorate courses]. / Perspectiva internacional acerca de indicadores de qualidade em cursos de doutorado em enfermagem.

The authors compare/contrast the quality indicators for doctoral programs in three countries, the United States, Brazil and Venezuela, indicating differences and similarities, and identifying issues that can globally affect education in doctoral programs in nursing. Such an analysis is based on three documents: that of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing--AACN (1993); Higher Education Personnel Training Commission-CAPES (1998), and National Consultative Council of Graduate Studies of Venezuela--CCNEPG (1987). The authors utilize as a framework the concepts of formal quality and political quality (Demo, 1994) and the sociopolitical, technical and subjective dimensions proposed by López e Calderon (1996). The indicators are distributed among the following components: faculty, program of studies, resources, research and students. Finally, the authors discuss indicators concerning a plan for evaluation of the quality of doctoral programs in nursing.

[Sources of meaning of caring and lack of caring in a pediatric hospital]. / Fontes e significados de cuidar e não cuidar em hospital pediátrico.

Exploratory study, that is part of a set of data collected through interviews with 10 clients admitted to a pediatric hospital, with the purpose to identify meanings and sources of caring and non caring. Caring encompasses three meanings: professional caring, parental caring and friendly caring. Non caring means the lack of interest of health professionals who perform procedures without attention and respect for the human being. Caring actions and behaviors are mentioned more frequently than those of non caring. Results also revealed that parents, health professionals, hospital personnel, visitors and roommates make clients feel cared for.

Women's work environment and health: clerical workers in Brazil.

Although women are participating more in the formal workforce, the majority are employed primarily in low-income and low-status occupations. While work roles may provide women with some rewards, employment may also create many stressful demands on their daily lives. As part of an international study, 60 female Brazilian clerical workers responded to a self-administered questionnaire describing what they liked, disliked, and found stressful about the structural, physical, and social aspects of their work environment. Participants also identified strategies they used to cope with stress in the work environment. Dimensions of healthy environments identified in the data included utility, challenge, participation, safety, pleasing workplace, valuation, clarity of roles, and empowerment. Unhealthy environments were characterized by hazards, bureaucracy, devaluation, and economic constraints. Participants described their concerns about the effect of the environment on their physical and mental health, but tended to adopt a passive, resigned coping style rather than a proactive approach to co-creating a healthier work environment. The results and their relationship to healthy work environments are discussed within the context of the larger sociopolitical environment of Brazil.

Veiled, voluminous, and devalued: narrative stories about low-income women from Brazil, Egypt, and Colombia.

The first purpose of this article is to argue the significance of using international and culturally diverse exemplars in developing nursing knowledge. The second is to identify some urgent priorities in the development of nursing knowledge, particularly as related to women's health. The lived experiences of three women from Brazil, Egypt, and Colombia who are in low-income, devalued, but important jobs are presented through their voices. These storied accounts highlight nursing's mission in dealing with the marginalized client as a human being whose context is historical and sociocultural. The implications for knowledge development as driven by international exemplars, diverse experiences, and narration of stories are discussed.

Comfort. Immigrant Hispanic cancer patients' views.

This study focuses on the meaning of comfort from the perspective of immigrant Hispanic cancer patients undergoing treatment at a large Western medical center. Patients (n = 10), in 30 ethnographical interviews conducted in Spanish by a culturally sensitive interviewer identified characteristics, needs, and sources of comfort. The characteristics of comfort were: feeling integrated, functioning and normalcy, care and nurturing, security and safety, control and "comodo." Comfort needs evolved into 6 categories: nurturing, familiar environment, safety, quality of life, normalcy, and "animo." Providers of comfort, as perceived by these Hispanic patients were: self, family, health care providers, and God. The characteristics of comfort most frequently talked about by the Hispanic participants were feeling integrated and nurtured. Integrated, a seemingly complex characteristic of comfort, reflected a sense of inner peace with oneself that went beyond the physical comfort. Function and normalcy were also perceived to be important aspects of comfort. It is important to note that the Hispanic patients on occasion used culturally relevant terms, such as comodo and animo (neither of which are readily translated into English) to convey their impressions of comfort. The study demonstrates that comfort is important in illness and cancer treatment situations, and that for these Hispanic patients it also had influence from their culture.

Maternal role of women in clerical jobs in southern Brazil: stress and satisfaction.

The number of women in the work force in Brazil is increasing, and a pattern of early work participation and a later decline continues to be manifested. The maternal role is a central role for these women. We investigated the quality of the maternal role as perceived by women who hold clerical jobs in a southern Brazilian city. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from a random sample of 60 women. Thirty-three of these women were mothers with one or more children. Maternal role likes, dislikes, and stresses were obtained through questionnaires. Coping strategies and resources to cope with the maternal role needs were also obtained. Analytical categories were developed for each of these variables and the analysis was completed through the use of a qualitative computer program.