Study of the sexuality and demand for gynecologic services by high school students in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the sexual and reproductive profile and demand for gynecologic services by high school girls in the city of Rio de Janeiro. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study carried out by administration of a questionnaire filled in by the respondents on their own, given to students at 3 high schools with different socioeconomic profiles: private, state, and federal. The questions covered socio-demographic characteristics, sexual behavior, and demand for gynecologic services. The data were analyzed by the Yates chi-square test and Student t-test, with P < .05. SETTING: Three high schools in the city of Rio de Janeiro. INTERVENTIONS: None. PARTICIPANTS: Female high school students. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Age, race, socioeconomic level, parents' schooling, and sexual activity. RESULTS: A total of 418 students participated, 122 from a private school, 165 from a state public school, and 131 from a federal public school. The state school students were predominantly black and had the lowest socioeconomic level, with their parents having the fewest average years of schooling. They also reported the most sexual partners, pregnancies, and abortions. Their characteristics differed significantly from those of the private and federal school students, which were similar to each other. The average age of first sexual activity was similar for all the respondents and the first visit to a gynecologist occurred significantly later among the state school students. CONCLUSIONS: The more frequent pregnancies and abortions by the state school students can be a consequence of the lower demand for or insufficient access to gynecologic services, depriving these students of the necessary care to promote sexual and reproductive health. This demonstrates the need for public policies that promote and facilitate access to routine preventive gynecologic care by low-income adolescent girls.

[Project evidência [evidence]: research and education about accessing scientific databases in Azores]. / Projeto Evidência: investigação e formação sobre acesso a bases de dados de informação científica nos Açores.

Project Evidência [Evidence] intends to promote the use of scientific databases among nurses. This study aims to design educational interventions that facilitate nurses' access to these databases, to determine nurses' habits regarding the use of scientific databases, and to determine the impact that educational interventions on scientific databases have on Azorean nurses who volunteered for this project. An intervention project was conducted, and a quantitative descriptive survey was designed to evaluate the impact two and five months after the educational intervention. This impact was investigated considering certain aspects, namely, the nurses' knowledge, habits and reasons for using scientific databases. A total of 192 nurses participated in this study, and the primary results indicate that the educational intervention had a positive impact based not only on the increased frequency of using platforms or databases of scientific information (DSIs) s but also on the competence and self-awareness regarding its use and consideration of the reasons for accessing this information.

Projeto Evidência: investigação e formação sobre acesso a bases de dados de informação científica nos Açores / Project evidência [evidence]: research and education about accessing scientific databases in Azores / Proyecto evidencia: investigación y formación sobre acceso a bases de datos de información científica en las Azores

O projeto Evidência visa estimular os enfermeiros na utilização das bases de dados de informação científica. Este estudo teve por objetivos desenhar uma intervenção formativa facilitadora do acesso a essas bases de dados por parte dos enfermeiros, efetuar avaliação de diagnóstico relativamente aos hábitos dos enfermeiros quanto a esse tipo de ferramenta e determinar o impacto de uma intervenção formativa sobre essas matérias entre os enfermeiros residentes nos Açores. Em termos metodológicos, foi desenhado um projeto de intervenção e realizado um estudo quantitativo, do tipo descritivo, para avaliar esse impacto aos dois e cinco mêses após a formação, em dimensões como o conhecimento, hábitos e objetivos de utilização. No projeto participaram 192 enfermeiros, e os resultados apontam para um impacto positivo dessa formação, não só no aumento da frequência de utilização das bases de dados de informação científica, como na autopercepção de competência na sua utilização e motivos invocados para explorar esse tipo de informação.

Project Evidência [Evidence] intends to promote the use of scientific databases among nurses. This study aims to design educational interventions that facilitate nurses' access to these databases, to determine nurses' habits regarding the use of scientific databases, and to determine the impact that educational interventions on scientific databases have on Azorean nurses who volunteered for this project. An intervention project was conducted, and a quantitative descriptive survey was designed to evaluate the impact two and five months after the educational intervention. This impact was investigated considering certain aspects, namely, the nurses' knowledge, habits and reasons for using scientific databases. A total of 192 nurses participated in this study, and the primary results indicate that the educational intervention had a positive impact based not only on the increased frequency of using platforms or databases of scientific information (DSIs) s but also on the competence and self-awareness regarding its use and consideration of the reasons for accessing this information.

El proyecto Evidencia procura estimular al enfermero a utilizar bases de datos de información científica. Se objetivó ejecutar una intervención formativa para facilitar el acceso a tales bases por parte de enfermeros, efectuar evaluaciones de diagnóstico relativas a hábitos del enfermero respecto de dichas herramientas y determinar el impacto de una intervención educativa sobre el tema entre enfermeros residentes en las Azores. En términos metodológicos, fue diseñado un proyecto de intervención y realizado un estudio cuantitativo y descriptivo, para evaluar ese impacto a los dos y cinco meses luego de la formación, en dimensiones como conocimiento, habitualidad y objetivos de utilización. Participaron 192 enfermeros. Los resultados expresan un impacto positivo de la formación, no sólo en el aumento de frecuencia de utilización de bases de datos, sino también en la autopercepción de competencia en el uso y motivos expresados para abordar este tipo de información.

Advance directives: Portuguese palliative care professionals' views.

Advance directives are a controversial subject in Portugal at present, particularly among health professionals. Although some health professionals consider them to be important tools that are helpful in making proper decisions and promoting patient autonomy, others think that they may interfere with the human and relational dimension of care. It is therefore timely to investigate health professionals' views of advance directives in more detail. This study aimed to identify and reflect on Portuguese palliative care professionals' perspectives of advanced directives and their relevance to end-of-life decision making. A qualitative exploratory methodology was adopted in which interviews were conducted with two physicians, six nurses, two psychologists, and one social worker from four palliative care teams based across Portugal. The findings emphasize the relevance of advance directives to ethical decision-making processes in palliative care. However, debates are needed regarding whether advance directives should be legally binding.

Comparison between two bivalve species as tools for the assessment of pollution levels in an estuarian environment.

Estuaries are semi-enclosed marine areas with water short residence times. Estuary ecosystems show a higher susceptibility to contamination, as historically these sites are linked to urban and industrial development. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are ubiquitous contaminants present in high quantities in these marine environments. Chemical analyses of sediments provides information regarding PAH pollution levels but not a direct measure of the toxicological effects attributed to these contaminants. Samples of sediments and of two bivalve species, Cerastoderma edule and Mytilus galloprovincialis, were collected from two locations (Corcubión and A Concha) in an estuary from northwestern Spain. The PAH levels in sediment and bivalve species and possible sources were determined. A moderate level and a low level of pyrogenic PAH contamination were observed in Corcubión and in A Concha, respectively. Genotoxic damage was evaluated in gills and hemocytes from mussels and cockles by means of the comet assay. DNA damage measured as DNAt values showed a reliable relationship with pollution load levels of the two sampling sites. The higher sensitivity of C. edule compared to M. galloprovincialis enables one to recommend including another species coupled with mussels for biomonitoring estuarine environments.

Working family carers in Portugal: between the duty and the burden of caring for old vulnerable people.

This paper intends to reflect on some of the predominant traits of caring for older vulnerable people in Portugal, where the most common care model is a mix of informal home-based provision and support from the public and private sectors. We shall address some issues concerning the risks and limits of informal caretaking of older dependent people based on a case study of a woman who has to fulfil multiple roles, pushing her to the limit of her ability to cope. Evidence indicates that solutions to the challenges of caring for an ageing population, especially those in a vulnerable condition, require a consideration of material, social, cultural, and psychological measures. On the basis of the nature of the links between these areas, the quality of the care provided and the consequences for the working family carers, we can define standards of caring solutions for older people and hence derive policies for preventive and optimized interventions. Our final aim is to emphasize the importance of palliative care settings to improve the quality of life and minimize the suffering of both older people and their carers.

Testing differences between two samples of continuous data.

In this article the circumstances and techniques used to test a hypothesis by comparing information from two random samples to identify possible or existing difference amongst the target population are presented. This is based on continuous data collected from two samples after which a comparison can be made that may then be generalised to the source population. The terminology of the method is briefly explained including basic concepts such as survey errors and probabilistic chance. Hypothesis test methods are described for two types of samples: independent and dependent, and examples of some of the most commonly used test in health research are given for parametric and non-parametric source distributions. Testing difference between two samples of continuous data is an important and frequently applied process of making a decision about the main differences in a population of interest in health research.

Hypothesis testing.

This article presents a statistical approach called hypothesis testing. This is based upon information collected from a random sample following which results are generalised for the entire population. Some general concepts and terminology of the methodology are briefly described including statistical hypotheses, types of errors, one- or two-tailed tests and an example of an application is given. Hypothesis testing is a fundamental process in making a decision about populations of interest in research.