A multilevel model of life satisfaction among old people: individual characteristics and neighborhood physical disorder.

BACKGROUND: Considering the lack of studies that examine built environmental factors associated with life satisfaction among old people in developing countries, particularly those focused on Brazil, the aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of life satisfaction among old adults residents in a Brazilian urban center and to investigate its association with individual characteristics and objective measures of the built environment. METHODS: A household survey (N = 832) in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil (2008-2009) and a Systematic Social Observation (SSO) was used in this study. Life satisfaction was assessed through Self-Anchoring Ladder Scale, developed by Cantril, in 1965. Participants' answers were categorized as satisfied (rungs 6-10) and dissatisfied (rungs 0-5). A Multilevel Poisson regression analysis with robust variance was performed. RESULTS: The prevalence of satisfaction with life was approximately 82%. Higher prevalence of life satisfaction was significantly associated with old people who reported higher incomes, higher religious participation, who practice physical activity and who perceive their health as good and very good. In contextual level, results showed that when the contextual features were adjusted separately by the individual characteristics they were no longer significant. The results also showed a lower prevalence of life satisfaction among those living in neighborhoods with higher physical disorder, even after adjusting for individual and other contextual characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that life satisfaction should be assessed whenever evaluating urban redevelopment programs designed to improve neighborhood characteristics, reducing physical disorder, especially among old adults.

Self-rated health and perceived violence in the neighborhood is heterogeneous between young women and men.

BACKGROUND: Self-rated health (SRH) is the general perception of an individual's own health and a key indicator to measure health in population-based studies. Few studies have examined the association between perceived urban violence and SRH among young adults. There were an estimated 475,000 deaths in 2012 as a result of homicide on the world. Sixty percent of these deaths occurred among males aged 15-44 years, making homicide the third leading cause of death for this population group. This study aimed to determine and quantify the association between sex-specific perception of violence in the neighborhood and SRH among young adults. METHODS: Participants included 955 young adults (18-29 years) residing in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil between 2008 and 2009. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the strength of the associations. The perceived urban violence score was constructed from variables that assessed the respondents' insecurity and perception of fear and danger of suffering some form of violence in the neighborhood using exploratory factor analysis. RESULTS: 18,3% of respondents rated their health as fair/ poor/very poor. Among women, fair/ poor/very poor SRH was associated with age between 25 and 29 years, low socioeconomic status score, being dissatisfied with weight, not exercising regularly, not having a healthy diet, and having some chronic disease. Men who rated their health as fair/poor/very poor more frequently smoked, were dissatisfied with their weight, did not exercise regularly, consumed fewer fruits and vegetables, and had some chronic disease compared to men who rated their health as very good/good. In the final model, after adjusting for confounding variables, perceived violence in the neighborhood was associated with poor SRH in young women only (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.04-2.21). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that public and health policies should implement interventions on the neighborhood physical and social environment to improve the perception of safety and have a positive impact on people's health, especially women.

A vivência de pais e profissionais na unidade de terapia intensiva neonatal / The experience by parents and professionals at a neonatal intensive therapy unit / La vivencia de padres y profesionales en la unidad de terapia intensiva neonatal

Este estudo teve como objetivo apreender a vivência dos pais e profissionais na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal. Os sujeitos foram doze profissionais e oito pais de recém-nascidos. Para coleta dos dados utilizaram-se a Oficina de trabalho e a Observação de campo. No tratamento dos dados utilizou-se a Análise de Discurso. Mostrou-se como pais e profissionais vivenciam a internação e como o cotidiano que compartilham os transformam, permitindo-lhes criar outros sentidos para a vida e para o cuidar. Verifica-se que a presença dos pais ressignifica o ambiente assistencial e o cuidado e amplia as demandas de cuidado da criança. Acreditamos na necessidade de intervenções na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal a partir do vivenciado por pais e profs-sionais, utilizando-se os diferentes olhares para a produção de um cuidado integral.

This study aimed to gather knowledge of the experience of parents and professionals in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The subjects were twelve professional and eight parents of newborns. Data collection was analyzed using Discourse Analysis. It was observed how parents and health professionals co-exits in a hospital setting as well as how their day-to-day life activities devoted to sharing allows them to create a sense to life and caring for one another. The presence of parents re-enforces an environment and care setting which increases the demands of child care. We believe in the need for interventions at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit based on the experience observing parents and professionals, using different manners of observation for the creation of an integral care.

Este estudio tuvo por objetivo aprehender la vivencia de los padres y profesionales en la Unidad de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal. Los sujetos fueron doce profesionales y ocho padres de recién nacidos. Para la recogida de datos se utilizó el taller de trabajo y la observación de campo. Para el tratamiento de los datos se utilizó el Análisis de Discurso. Quedó en evidencia cómo los padres y profesionales viven el ingreso y cómo el día a día que comparten los transforma, permitiéndoles crear otros sentidos para la vida y para el cuidar. Se comprobó que la presencia de los padres trae otro significado al ambiente asistencial y al cuidado, y amplía las demandas de cuidado del niño. Creemos en la necesidad de intervenciones en la Unidad a partir de lo vivenciado por padres y profesionales, utilizando las diferentes miradas para la producción de un cuidado integral.