[Self medication among patients with musculoskeletal symptoms in Araucanía region]. / Automedicación en individuos de la Región de la Araucanía con problemas musculoesqueléticos.

BACKGROUND: Self-medication is a common behavior in the general population, specially among those suffering from chronic pain. AIM: To study the prevalence and characteristics of self medication. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Aiming to know the prevalence and features of self medication, a structured interview was applied to 272 out of 419 individuals from the general population, that reported musculoskeletal symptoms. RESULTS: Sixty five percent of those interviewed recognised self medication. No gender differences were observed and there was a trend towards a higher frequency of self medication among older individuals. The frequency of self-medication was higher in low socioeconomic groups, subjects with long lasting pain, those with more severe pain and among subjects with a previous prescription. The drugs more frequently used were dipyrone, piroxicam and aspirin. The average daily piroxicam dose reported was 27 mg. Self medication was not associated with the labor condition of the subjects or the time of occurrence of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Self medication is a frequent behavior, particularly among low socio-economic groups and those with long lasting and more severe pain.

Student and faculty learning styles in a Canadian and a Chilean self-directed, problem-based nursing program.

A descriptive comparative study was conducted to identify and compare/contrast the learning styles of nursing faculty and entry-level students in 2 self-directed (SDL), problem-based (PBL) nursing programs. The Kolb LSI-1985 was administered to 94 first-year generic students, 63 post-R.N. students, and 22 faculty members in a Canadian university nursing program. A Spanish translation was completed by 37 incoming nursing students and 13 faculty members in a Chilean university. One-way ANOVA analysis of group mean scores showed significant differences among the 4 student groups in the active experimentation learning mode. Post hoc tests confirmed that Chilean students are less likely to be active learners than their teachers or Canadian students, a finding of significance in preparing students to assume self-direction of their learning. Canadian faculty had higher abstract conceptualization scores than Chilean faculty, which has implications for faculty development of educator roles for SDL/PBL.